Moment of Silence (09-12-11)

At the time, it seemed simple.  We had planned a simple ceremony to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11.  We decided on short and simple so that we could have the event just before our annual Grandparent’s Day Program so we could share this solemn occasion with people from the community.  In many ways, we knew that the ceremony would be more meaningful for them than it would be for the students, who thankfully, are too young to personally remember the attacks.
 
So we brought all the students into the gym and sat them across from all the grandparents, parents, and others who yearly come to support the kindergarten and first grade. Our Grandparents Day Program has always drawn a large crowd, so by the time we sat down Pre-school through sixth grade, the gym was about as full as I’ve ever seen it.
 
With the little ones waiting to start their program, we planned on three simple things: the pledge of allegiance, a moment of silence, and the national anthem. Simple. Short. We hoped meaningful and appropriate.
 
Police chief and military veteran, Russ Ingle, led everyone in the pledge.  I offered him the microphone, but he declined.  His voice rang loud and clear, “I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America.” The gym resounded with the pledge as over three hundred voices united in allegiance to our country and our flag.
 
Next, I asked everyone to bow their heads in a moment of silence to remember all those who either lost their lives on 9/11 or who have subsequently gave their lives to keep our country safe.  
 
I must admit, I was a little nervous about this part of the commemoration.  We have well behaved students, but I wasn’t sure if all 200 plus of them would be able to not talk for an extended period of time. Children, especially small children, have so much they want to tell you, almost every second of the day.  I didn’t know if all of them would be up to the challenge of giving up some of those precious opportunities to share.
 
But I need not have worried.  As soon as I bowed my head, the gym became as silent as a graveyard.  The only thing I could hear was the beating of my heart.
 
And this is where things became complicated.  I had in my mind to set the moment for around thirty seconds.  However, as the clock began to tick in my brain, I thought that maybe I should have picked another number of seconds that would have been more symbolic, more meaningful.  Maybe I should have projected a large counter on a screen, with each second representing something about 9/11.
 
Of course, I hadn’t prepared.  I didn’t know any such numbers by which to set a meaningful moment of silence.  Suddenly, things were complicated.
 
I ended up counting, in my head, slowly to thirty. I am proud to report that all the students, from the youngest to oldest, remained silent throughout.  It felt like enough time for respect and reflection, long enough to communicate the message: we remember. Then, the band started up the Star Spangled Banner, joined by myself and many other voices as we sang, “And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof the night that our flag was still there.”
 
I heard afterwards that some tears were shed.  Many expressed their thanks for our simple ceremony.  But today I still wonder how much more meaningful that moment of silence would have been if I had tied it to the statistics of 9/11.
 
Thus, I will end this column with some of those numbers, obtained from Internet research.* As you read them, I hope it helps you take your own personal moment of silence, to commemorate those who gave so much to so many.
 
Number killed in attacks: 2977
Number who died on airplanes: 246
Number who died at the World Trade Center: 2606
Number who died at the Pentagon: 125
Number who died on United 93 in Shanksville, PA: 40
Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
Number of police officers: 60
Number of states whose citizens were killed in attacks: 40 (39 + DC).
Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
Bodies found "intact": 289
Body parts found: 19,858
Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000
Total units of donated blood actually used: 258
Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
 
* I found different numbers at different websites, so I cannot attest to their accuracy. The sites I used were: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11 and http://nymag.com/news/articles/wtc/1year/numbers.htm