NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Albert Leonard Middle School students got an in-depth history lesson on the Sept.11 attacks this week when the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit came to the school.
The 53-foot tractor trailer, with 1,000 square feet of displays, is a project of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“I feel that even though it was sad, we should still learn about it,” said sixth-grader Fredrick Jere after viewing the exhibit.
It’s also a tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters who perished while saving others. It equally honors Siller, the firefighter who reached the Twin Towers by running 3.5 miles, including through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, wearing 60 pounds of gear. He died at the towers saving others.
“I think that all the people who tried to save people in the buildings and who saved lives are special people, and we should honor them and be thankful,” sixth-grader Gabrielle Opdyke said after viewing the exhibit.
Retired firefighter Bob Weinert, one of the tour guides, said the day also recognizes how people came together afterward.
“For the next eight to 10 months, I saw the country so united, like I’ve never seen before or since,” he added. “Everybody changed. Everybody was nice, everyone took care of each other. I wish we could bottle that.”
The exhibit, which was brought to the school for two days, was made possible through the generosity of Dan and Carrie Foley and Dan’s sister Joanne Foley Gross. Dan and Joanne’s brother, firefighter Thomas J. Foley, died in the attack.