'I Never Met You': New York City Honors 11/XNUMX Victims

Relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks gather in New York City every year to honor the loved ones they lost, reports NBC.

Al Qaeda hijackers used 4 jetliners to terrorist actsThey flew two planes into the Twin Towers located in southern Manhattan in New York City. The attack caused both towers to collapse, causing severe damage to the surrounding buildings.

A third plane was flown into the Pentagon outside Washington. Another plane crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 3000 people died. Relatives now read the names of the victims on each anniversary of the attacks.

"I would like to really know you"

Some names are read out by children or young people born after attacksLast year, 28 young people out of more than 140 readers attended the funeral ceremony.

Among them are children of victims whose spouses were pregnant.

Most of the young readers are nieces, nephews or grandchildren of victims. They have inherited the stories, the photographs and the sense of responsibility.

The tragedy of September 11th affects generations.

"It's like you're passing the torch," said 13-year-old Allan Olditsky.

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Over the past two years, he has read out the names of his grandfather and others. Olditsky keeps mementos from his grandfather, firefighter Allan Tarasevich, in his room.

Last year, the teenager confessed to an audience that he had heard so much about his grandfather that he felt like he knew him.

"But I wanted to really get to know you," he added.

Allan volunteered to be a reader because it made him feel closer to his grandfather. He hopes that when he has children, they will participate in the event.

"I feel very privileged to be able to teach them. I can tell them about their heritage and what should never be forgotten," he said.

He teaches peers who know little or nothing about the events of September 11th.

When it comes time for the ceremony, Allan looks up information about the life of each person whose name he is asked to read.

"He reflects on everything and understands the importance of what it means to someone," said his mother, Melissa Tarasevich.

Reading the names of the fallen is a tradition that extends beyond the site of the event. War memorials honor fallen soldiers by reading their names out loud. Some Jewish organizations hold readings of the names of Holocaust victims on International Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah.

The names of the 168 people killed in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building are read annually at the memorial.

On the anniversary of 11/184, the Pentagon ceremony includes a reading of the names of the 93 people who died there. At the Flight 40 National Memorial, relatives and friends of the victims read a list of the XNUMX passengers and crew members whose lives ended in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The hour-long vigil at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City honors the 2977 victims at all three sites, as well as the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Their names are read by family volunteers selected by lottery.

"Even though I never met you, I will never forget you"

Readers typically give brief accounts of their lost relatives, often in touching detail.

"I often think that if you were here, you would be one of my best friends, going to college with me, getting me out of trouble with my mom and dad, hanging out at the Jersey Shore," Capri Yarosh said last year of her slain uncle, New York City firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo.

Now 17, she grew up with a homemade children's book about him and a family that still mentions him in everyday conversation.

"Chris would love this" is a phrase often heard at home.

She attended the mall ceremony twice.

“It means a lot to me that I can kind of keep my uncle’s name alive and read out everyone else’s names so that more future generations will know,” Capri Yarosh said. “I feel like I can convey the importance of what happened.”

Her two younger sisters also read out names. Their mother, Pamela Yarosh, could never bring herself to register.

"I don't have that kind of strength. It's too difficult for me," said Pamela Jarosz, Mozzillo's sister. "They're braver."

By now, many of the children of 11/100 victims — like Melissa Tarasiewicz, who was graduating high school when her father died — are long grown. But about XNUMX were born after one of their parents died in the attacks, and are now young adults.

"Even though we've never met, I'm honored to carry your name and legacy. I thank you for giving me this life and family," Manuel DaMota Jr. said of his father, a carpenter and project manager, during a ceremony last year.

One by one, the young readers remembered the aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-uncles they missed at the event.

"All his life my father said that I reminded him of you."

"I want you to take me fishing."

"I wish I had more of you than just a picture in a frame."

"Even though I've never met you, I'll never forget you."

"I never met you."