Louis Oliwa, 17, a senior at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School, was in the first grade on Sept. 11, 2001.
He remembers learning about what had happened after getting home from school. It was a lot for a child to comprehend.
“I never forgot that day or what happened,” Oliwa said.
Oliwa was one of 2,400 students from O’Brien Tech, Ansonia High School, Mead School and Prendergast School who held hands to form a human chain around the streets around Emmett O’Brien Friday.
The idea was to put on a massive show of American solidarity on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“Solidarity is important to show,” said James Marrone, a social studies teacher at Emmett O’Brien who helped to organize the event, which they called “Hands Across America/United We Stand.”
The event also included a patriotic parade with U.S. flags, signs reading “United We Stand,” and a float bearing a replica of the Twin Towers.
A super-sized U.S. flag was hung between the extended ladders of two fire trucks.
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The parade passed by a commemorative garden in front of Emmett O’Brien, where there is a replica of the Twin Towers and a stone engraved to remember the tragic event.
After the parade, students silently remembered the people who died on Sept. 11.
Oliwa said the tragedy resonated with him particularly because his father is a firefighter.
“(This event) makes me glad for my freedom, and for all the people that sacrificed their lives,” Oliwa said.
Other students shared similar thoughts.
“I feel very touched to be a part of it,” said Adriana Crisanti, 15, of Ansonia, a junior at O’Brien.
She was holding hands with classmates on the street in front of the school as the parade passed.
“I’m glad we’re doing this to mark 9/11,” she said.
