Parents share significance of Sept. 11 with children

The fire chief urged his
audience to savor day-to-day interactions with one another.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CANFIELD — Matt Rarick isn’t exactly sure how he will explain to his 2-year-old twin sons the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

He just knows he will do his best to tell them what happened.

Rarick, a firefighter with the Cardinal Joint Fire District, said he will probably mention to his sons, Tyler and Trent, that there are some “bad people” in the world, but he’ll place the emphasis on those who tried to help others during the crisis.

Rarick was one of several hundred people who attended Tuesday’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony, to honor and remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

Just as other major events in this country’s history have been taught in schools, so should the occurrences of Sept. 11, he added.

Also among those on the Village Green was Bob Kotouch, who brought his sons Andrew Paul, 5, and Bobby, 6.

Kotouch, of Canfield, said he feels that most people are looking after one another and are more alert to their surroundings since 9/11. However, the government is “still playing politics,” he added.

Kotouch, whose wife, Heather, played taps at the ceremony, said he’s explained to his sons how many firefighters lost their lives saving others. The family has seen several movies and specials about the attacks, he added.

What people recalled

Kotouch said that 9/11 is to this generation what the assassination of John F. Kennedy was to the one before. In both cases, most people recall where they were when events unfolded, he added.

“Your heart just fell out of your mouth and onto the floor,” he said about watching the attacks play out on TV.

Amy Hancher of Canfield, who came with her 5-year-old niece, Autumn Reed, said she wants to see firefighters receive more recognition for their efforts. Hancher, whose boyfriend is part of the Cardinal Joint Fire Department’s honor guard, said the country is taking better precautions post 9/11.

“We’re a lot less arrogant” as a nation, she added.

Serving as the hourlong ceremony’s keynote speaker was David Comstock, chief of the Western Reserve Joint Fire District.

Comstock’s comments focused in part on six members of a fire department in the Bronx, N.Y., who were killed that day. The men approached their duties with a sense of humor, had deep loyalty to family and co-workers and were good-natured, he recalled.

All left wives and children, he noted, adding that more than 3,000 children lost at least one parent, and 1,600 people lost a spouse.

Comstock said he hopes everyone who died Sept. 11 will be remembered. He also urged his audience to savor day-to-day interactions with one another.

“You must treat every day as a gift; appreciate each other more,” Comstock said. “When you go home, tell a loved one how much you love them.”

Names of victims

On display at the ceremony were six panels listing the names, ages and hometowns of each person killed in the attacks. Nearby was a concrete block taken from the Pentagon.

Six years have done little to heal the pain of 9/11, and the war in Iraq hasn’t solved anything, said Laura Wilson, a member of Austintown’s 9/11 committee. Despite the passage of time, Americans still must be vigilant and on guard, she stressed.

“We need to be aware of our surroundings and more vigilant in reporting unusual things and people,” Wilson added.

Also offering remarks was state Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-33rd. The ceremony also featured performances by the Celtic Flame Pipe and Drum Corps as well as a 21-gun salute, a ringing of the bell to honor those killed, and the unveiling of a painting titled “Fields of Freedom.”