“This really affected me, because people died. They didn’t want to die, but Al-Qaeda crashed planes into the Twin Towers,” said Welty Middle School sixth grader Jake Andrews, as he responded to a solemn service held on the front lawn of the school on Sept. 9 to commemorate the events of 9/11. He and fellow classmates stood along sidewalks lined with 911 miniature American flags as the melancholy notes of Taps soared.

“The people who took down the plane in Pennsylvania were extremely brave,” commented student Alex Brown. “If they hadn’t taken it down, it is hard telling what could have happened, and how many people could have died.”

Eighth grader Cameron Free wrote and presented a speech to present to the entire middle school during the 9/11 ceremony.

“When I wrote it, I pretty much thought about everything that 9/11 means, and all the places that were affected, all of the plane crashes. I would say that most students understand the meaning of this,” said Free.

“I wanted to make sure that it meant something, and that it wasn’t just words on paper. I wanted it to mean something, and to affect people, at least a little bit,” said fellow speaker Kaitlin Reese.

High school students watched news clips of the 9/11 events, while Central Elementary taped the Pledge of Allegiance for radio air play. West Elementary had a brief ceremony at their flag pole, while South students sang God Bless the USA.

“Today we all felt proud to be Americans,” noted South principal Jackie Triplett.

Students at East School launched 300 red, white, and blue balloons into the air. Each balloon carried a message and personal note from a student expressing their support for the victims and heroes of 9/11.

At York Elementary, children took part in a special assembly, and then watched a Reading Rainbow presentation about students who were attending school near the towers when the attacks occurred. They then gathered at the flagpole to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to sing patriotic songs together before returning to their classrooms, where age specific discussions were held.

Dirk Gadd, a third grade teacher, was in his last year at Muskingum College on Sept. 11, 2011.

“I was on my way to ethics class, of all things, and I heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I assumed it was an accident,” he recalled. “We went ahead with class, but when I got out, they said that a second plane had hit the Center, and I realized it was probably not accidental. I went home to my roommates, and we turned on the TV. We just started watching the events. I remember calling my family, and some of my close friends, making sure that everybody was OK. It was unbelievable. Then we heard about the Pentagon, and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. It was devastating. We didn’t talk much, just sat there in shock. You always think that it’s impossible to attack the United States. You felt not as safe as you did before it happened. It was tragic. We watched the towers fall, and the people falling out. I remember we had a football game, and they debated if we were going to play our game that weekend. We ended up playing. They said the best thing we could do was just to continue on. Eventually things began to get back to normal. I was old enough to fully understand what was going on.

“The kids in my class weren’t even born yet,” he mused. “The kids ask things like, ‘Why would somebody want to do that?’ That’s hard for them to understand; that’s hard for me to understand. How do I answer that question with these kids?” Gadd paused, and stared out the window before continuing. “I just want to make sure that these kids feel safe.”