At 9/11 exhibit, NYC first responders say younger generations must learn history
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- Former New York City police officer Scott Zink talks about his experiences as a 9/11 first responder during “Weber Remembers: The 9/11 Project” at the Weber County Fairgrounds on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. The event will be open one last day, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
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- The “Weber Remembers: The 9/11 Project” exhibit is pictured at the Weber County Fairgrounds complex on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021.
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- Visitors view the “Weber Remembers: The 9/11 Project” exhibit at the Weber County Fairgrounds complex on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021.
OGDEN — The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are a uniquely pivotal moment in American and world history.
But in one way, it emulates every other historic event before it and since — almost immediately, a population began growing who would have no memory of this event. The greatest human-made catastrophe to that time in the then-young 21st century would forever live below the horizon of their experience. Those born just a year or two before, or in the weeks and months after 9/11, are of an age where they’re graduating college, joining the workforce and even starting families of their own after growing up with the War on Terror and its effects constantly in the background.
In Weber County, a group has made it a mission to connect those in the community — especially those too young to remember a time before 9/11 or the attacks themselves — with this history through a major interactive exhibit. The Major Brent Taylor Foundation hosted “Weber Remembers: The 9/11 Project” at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden this past week and continuing through Monday.
According to event coordinator Kiersten Wilcox, the event — now in its third year — has been well received.
“We have had so many people from all over Weber and Davis counties as well as Ogden School District come and enjoy the event,” she said. “We’ve had tons more school kids than we could ever fathom. We’ve had so many people through this event and such good feedback, especially from with the young elementary school kids. We’ve had tons of bus drivers come up and talk to us about how they’ve heard so many good things from the kids on the bus rides home saying, ‘They just couldn’t stop talking about it.'”
A jarring transition
The main part of the exhibit starts by presenting American culture of the post-Cold War 1990s. Placards discuss everything from Pokemon to the New York Yankees’ return to prominence in the late-’90s while TVs play old Mentos commercials and clips from “Friends.” The exhibit displays that it was not a perfect time, with exhibits on the Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine High School mass shooting, but also paints the pre-9/11 era’s feeling of optimism as the world transitioned into the 2000s.
Then, just as jarringly as the attacks ended this era, visitors emerge into displays about the attacks themselves. Exhibits give a timeline of events and use a variety of mediums to interpret the events of that morning. TVs show news reports from the day while snippets of 9/11 documentaries are available in other areas. Exhibits also depict the aftermath, discussing the War on Terror, deaths from cancers caused by working at Ground Zero and the death of Osama bin Laden. Also detailed are the recovery and efforts to build memorials to the victims at the various attack sites — the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.; and an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, caused by a premature crash when airline passengers fought back against hijackers.
‘One of thousands’
Since the inception of the Weber Remembers project three years ago, one of the centerpieces of the event has been the inclusion of first responders who were there on 9/11. Visitors have opportunities to chat with each of them and hear their stories.
Among those attending this year is Steve Casquarelli, a former New York City firefighter and a representative of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, who responded to the World Trade Center site on 9/11.
“At first when we got down there, me and my unit, we were told to start putting water on fires,” he said. “It was very difficult at the time because a lot of the water mains in the ground were badly damaged from the collapse, so water was very limited at the time.”
He would then work in the department’s Field Communication Unit as part of the command post coordinating resources for the search effort after the collapse of the towers.
Former New York City police officer Scott Zink has also been on hand at this year’s event.
Zink said he was part of a specialized unit within the department know as the Emergency Service Unit.
“They’re a SWAT team, but we also do heavy rescue, technical rescue, water rescue, tight space rescue,” he said. “Think of us as firemen, but the only thing we don’t do is structural firefighting. But we do everything else. And we’re also at minimum EMTs or paramedics.”
On the morning of 9/11, Zink was just about to get off of his shift when the first plane struck the World Trade Center. He made his way down to the site, arriving just after the second plane had hit the second tower. Though Zink had brought his rescue equipment — much of which he displayed at Weber Remembers — he was told other similar teams were making their way up the towers and no others would be sent up until they reached the impacted floors and knew what equipment was needed. As a result, Zink was sent out to provide SWAT cover for the buildings as the rescue mission progressed.
“That is the absolute only reason I wasn’t in the building when it collapsed,” he said.
Though outside the buildings, Zink came extremely close to being caught in the collapse of the south tower and found his way into an underground parking garage. During the collapse of the north tower, he took shelter under a truck. He would also participate in the ensuing rescue and recovery mission on top of continuing the work of policing the city.
He noted that there are many first responders throughout the city and beyond who have a similar story from that morning.
“I was one of thousands,” he said. “I wasn’t the only one there. There were thousands of people there doing the same thing I was. My story is my perspective from my little, tiny spot.”
Also at the event this year was Hector Soto, a former New York City Transit Authority worker who was part of their emergency response team.
“I was not at the towers when they came down. I had just got off work,” he said. “Later that night when I came back, Ground Zero became my home for the next year. We had a full tunnel collapse under the World Trade Center.”
He noted that the total casualties from that day continues to grow.
“On that day, we lost 2,966 people,” he said. “Since then, we’ve lost an additional 4,300 due to cancers from working around Ground Zero. I came down with cancer seven years later. I come from a family of cops. There was four of us in our family that served at Ground Zero. Two of us got sick. My cousin, unfortunately, lost his life to three different cancers two years ago.”
Soto and other New York City Transit Authority responders were recognized for the first time for their 9/11 services last month.
Remembrance
Casquarelli said the educational value of events like Weber Remembers cannot be overstated.
“I think the exhibit is absolutely phenomenal what they set up,” he said. “It’s extremely well done, and if you bother to stop and read a little bit here and there, it all has an educational purpose to it, which is also the reason why I’m here representing the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. It’s to educate everyone. But more specifically, we’re leaning into the young ones here, what happened that day and the lessons that can be learned from it moving forward, not only in my life, but their lives too. There’s something that we need to learn from that event moving forward, hopefully to prevent it from happening again.”
Zink said the exhibit is an amazing experience and that he’s happy to be a part of it.
“I’m here because I want to teach the kids, and how often do you hear history from someone that was history?” he said. “I’m a little selfish because this helps my mental (health). Going in and telling people helps me cope. … This is an amazing thing. It’s a lot of work. It’s a great place for people to learn and experience what happened.”
Soto said exhibits like Weber Remembers are necessary for kids.
“They weren’t alive, so they get to hear the untold story, especially that there’s three of us that served at Ground Zero,” he said, noting he was to be joined later in the day by an uncle and brother who served at Ground Zero. “They get to hear firsthand accounts of what we did and how we served down at Ground Zero. It’s pretty eye-opening.”
Wilcox said the ultimate goal is remembrance.
“We want generations to come and remember this,” she said. “This is something that our country has experienced and will never forget. That’s what this project is all about. That’s why we call it ‘Weber Remembers,’ because we want everyone in Weber County to remember, and everyone in Utah, and everyone in the nation to remember these experiences and these amazing men and women who have given their lives and sacrificed so much for our country, even since that event.”