Too young to remember: ROTC cadets commemorate 9/11

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The events of September 11, 2001, will live on in American and, indeed, World History. But how are students who were not alive or too young to remember that fateful day to learn about these tragic events?

Armando R. Tsukano is the Senior Instructor for the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Harlingen South High School. He's also an Air Force veteran with over 20 years of service.

“It’s incumbent on us, the adults, the people who are here, to make sure that we tell them at a higher level. More than just a historical fact, what it was like. What did we feel? Where we were at, and the changes that came about."

Born in Cuba, Tsukano's family came to the United States, fleeing communist rule, when he was just nine months old.

“As I entered the age of becoming a person who could join the military, that’s the first thing that I wanted to do. Because I wanted to, in a way, give thanks to the United States because of what it did for my family,” Tsukano said.

As the nation remembers 9/11, Tsukano said he tries to get his cadets to think critically and broaden their understanding of the events of that day.

“They do come with a knowledge of 9/11 events, but when they get here, I take it to a higher level. They really don’t have the feeling of what it was like to be there.”

AFJROTC Master Sergeant Jesse Valderas said he had some knowledge before joining two years ago. “I knew four planes, three buildings, a field,” Valderas said.

Aracelli Garcia, Cadet Captain and Group Commander for AFJROTC, echoed those thoughts. She said she knew about the terror attack but didn't understand the full significance.

“I didn’t really know what the building was, or why, or what happened when. And here, it was a more detailed lesson and discussion that we had,” Garcia said.

Valderas said he had a deeper understanding of the attacks after his classes with Tsukano. “The various ages, like the youngest person and the oldest person. How many people actually died," he said.

“Putting that emotional connection with it definitely helps you remember, and I think it is what definitely helped me to internalize it,” Garcia said.

Garcia said she grew up hearing about 9/11 from her mother, an Air Force veteran. She emphasized the importance, not just as a day of mourning, but also a triumph.

“The resilience that everyone had, and the unity. She focused a lot on the unity that they had then, and how that carries over, even years later,” Garcia said.

Tsukano also wants his students to connect the events of that day with the current makeup of the government. Reminding them that the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the TSA, and other agencies came about as a result of the attacks.

Tsukano and his cadets took it upon themselves to spread awareness about 9/11 on campus on Thursday. They rotated posters throughout the halls with information about the number of first responders who were killed, among other notable facts.

He also challenged them to speak with other students about the significance and historical importance of the anniversary.

The most important thing students can do, Tsukano said, is to have meaningful conversations with adults who remember that tragic day.

“Where were you? How did you feel during the event, and how did you feel after the event? We can not afford to let history go to the grave.”