9/11: Pinellas Park High SRO recalls response to Sept. 11 attacks
Teaching the next generation about 9/11
At Pinellas Park High School, students are learning about 9/11 firsthand from Officer Harold Behar, a school resource officer and a former NYPD cop. He responded to the attacks on September 11, 2001. FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports.
LARGO, Fla. - There is now an entire generation of Americans who were not born when the September 11 attacks happened.
At Pinellas Park High School, those students are learning about the historic day firsthand from Officer Harold Behar, a school resource officer and a former NYPD cop. He responded to the attacks on September 11, 2001.
Pinellas Park SRO reflection
The backstory:
Behar keeps physical pieces of history in his office, including a window glass fragment from the World Trade Center. In the aftermath of the attacks, he spent months supporting recovery efforts at Ground Zero, and sorting through debris at landfills to find personal items and remains that could help identify victims.
"We're looking at this pile of just twisted metal and steel," Behar recalled of arriving at Ground Zero. "And I thought to myself first of all, I said, 'How the hell are we ever going to get down in there? But second of all, there are people under there.’"
Despite the overwhelming destruction, Behar focused on the families waiting for answers.
"There were still thousands of people who were planning funerals with an empty casket, and they had no idea what happened to their loved ones," he said. "So, by finding these remains, kind of gave me a sense of closure inside."
Campus remembrance ceremony
What they're saying:
Behar, alongside JROTC members and the local community, spoke at a ceremony Friday morning. The event took place in front of the campus' 9/11 memorial, which incorporates a piece of a recovered steel beam from one of the World Trade Center towers.
"There is now an entire generation of Americans who were not yet born on September 11, 2001. For them, September 11 is history. For those of us who were there, it's a memory, and that gives us a responsibility. We must continue to tell stories of those who were lost. We must tell the stories of those who ran towards danger," Behar said.
"Twenty-five years have passed. We still remember, and we still honor you, and we will never forget," he said.
Behar maintains a regular presentation that he shares with students, continuing to educate them about that fateful day.
The Source: Information in this story is from Officer Harold Behar, Pinellas County Schools and the City of Pinellas Park.