Daughter who lost firefighter father inspiring children to learn about 9/11

(The Center Square) – Twenty-five years after the Islamic terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, victims’ family members are sharing how they’ve turned their grief into positive action. They are also still calling for accountability, transparency and justice as two 9/11 cases are still ongoing.

Memorials are also ongoing nationwide to honor 343 firefighters who were killed after they rushed into the World Trade Center towers to rescue people trapped inside. They made it to the 73rd floor of the first tower before it collapsed.

Two hijacked commercial planes leaving Boston Logan International Airport were flown into the towers.

American Airlines Flight 11 was flown into the north tower at 8:45 a.m., crashing into floors 93 to 99. Three hijackers were Saudis; one was Egyptian; one was from the UAE. They killed 1,470 people in the North Tower and 87 people on Flight 11.

United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into the south tower at 9:05 am, crashing into floors 77 to 85. Three hijackers were Saudis; two were from the UAE. They killed 695 people in the south tower and 60 people on Flight 175.

The terrorists also killed 441 first responders, including 343 firefighters, who were killed when they collapsed. The south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., the north tower at 10:28 a.m.

Among those killed was Thomas McCann, 46, serving with the New York City Fire Department, Engine 65, Battalion 8. His daughter, Courtney Erin Sosna, was 16 years old.

“I have carried that day with me for nearly my entire life,” she told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. “For me, the 25th anniversary represents both an enormous passage of time and a reminder that, for families like mine, Sept. 11 has never really become history. Twenty-five years later, I am no longer just the daughter who lost her father. I am now a mother raising four children who never had the opportunity to know their grandfather. My grief has grown and changed alongside my life.

“What I want Americans to understand most is that behind every name we read on Sept. 11 is an entire family whose life continued with someone missing. There are children who grew up without parents, parents who buried children, spouses who had to rebuild lives, and now grandchildren who know these heroes only through photographs, stories, and the legacies we work so hard to preserve.”

Sosna, now living in Westlake, Florida, also emphasized that “Accountability still matters. Twenty-five years passing does not erase the responsibility to continue seeking the full truth about how Sept. 11 happened, who enabled it, and whether every recommendation that could make Americans safer has actually been carried out. Families deserve transparency and accountability, and future generations deserve to know that the lessons of Sept. 11 were not forgotten once the headlines faded.”

The 9/11 families are calling for accountability and transparency as two 9/11 cases are ongoing – a criminal trial against 9/11 conspirators still being held at Guantanamo Bay and a civil trial against the Saudi government by 9/11 victims’ families.

Sosna also expressed concern about what many survivors and victims’ family members have expressed: the 25th anniversary comes at a time when roughly one third of the current U.S. population wasn’t alive on 9/11. According to the latest census data, 103.3 million Americans are currently under age 25.

“Remembering cannot end with those of us who lived through it. We have a responsibility to tell them what happened — but also to tell them about the courage, sacrifice, faith, love, and humanity that emerged from one of our country’s darkest days,” Sosna told The Center Square. “We lived through a time when our country was united, and that sense of unity is something that can be difficult for children today to understand.”

She recently authored a children’s book, “God Gave Us Brave Hearts,” inspired by her father to help children understand Sept. 11 “in a gentle, meaningful way. I wanted my own children, and other children who weren’t there, to understand not only what America lost that day, but who these people were and why we continue to say, ‘Never Forget.’”

She says she still misses him “in ways words will never fully hold. But I also see his life continuing through his grandchildren, through the stories we tell, and through every person who refuses to let the memory of Sept. 11 fade.”

Every year, thousands of Americans participate in local climbing and running step challenges to honor firefighters and first responders who died. Each tower had 110 floors and 2,071 steps.

The 911 Tower Challenges, “343 Challenge” and “9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs” help raise funds to support Fire Hero Families.

The 9/11 families are also encouraging Americans to remember the 2,977 lives taken on Sept. 11 and to demand accountability for unanswered questions.

The 9/11 Memorial Museum is commemorating the anniversary in multiple ways, including a downloadable 25th anniversary toolkit, The Center Square reported. Those visiting in person can view a multi-part exhibit about 9/11, a memorial exhibit, the 9/11 Memorial Glade, which honors those who are still sick or died from exposure to toxins in the aftermath of 9/11, and the “Survivor Tree.”