25 Years After 9/11, Fallen Firefighters Children

I used to be 35 when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, and now I’m 60. In 25 years, the somberness and heaviness stay, and I’m sure it’s that method for many Americans. So, it’s acceptable that as a nation we continue to set apart this day for mourning, reflection, and to honor the fallen.  

If there may be any “feel good” aspect to remembering the two,977 souls who misplaced their lives that day, and the 1000’s of others who subsequently died as a end result of injury and sickness from the environmental fallout of the Towers’ collapse, it’s listening to the tales of the members of the family and kids (now adults) who created magnificence from the ashes and the gaping loss left from that day. 

There are many kids of 9/11 victims who have began charities and organizations to honor their family members, and many others who have adopted in the footsteps of their first responder mother and father. Four of the youngsters of firefighter Carl Asaro have performed just that, changing into firefighters to honor their father’s life and sacrifice. 

A Legacy of Service is the subject of this week’s Feel-Good Friday.

Carl wasn’t initially supposed to work on 9/11. But a fellow firefighter had requested him to cowl his shift that day. Shortly after 8:46 a.m., a call got here into their firehouse: A aircraft had hit the North Tower. 

A second aircraft slammed into the South Tower 17 minutes later. Firefighters, police officers, and other emergency staff rushed to the World Trade Center. As panicked people ran from the burning skyscrapers, Carl and other first responders did the alternative.

Carl was assigned to set up a command heart at the South Tower. There, he would help coordinate efforts to struggle the fires and rescue the people trapped inside. 

But without warning, the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. The North Tower crumbled less than half-hour later. The six Asaro youngsters and their mother spent days ready to discover out if Carl was OK. 

“We held out hope,” says Carl Asaro Jr., who was 13 at the time. “We didn’t understand completely how terrible everything was.” 

Carl was among those 343 firefighters who misplaced their lives in the September 11 terrorist assault on the World Trade Center. Now, 25 years later, Carl Asaro, Jr., Matt Asaro, Marc Asaro and Rebecca Asaro are a half of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) household. It is their method of honoring the daddy they misplaced.

Carl Jr. was the first, becoming a member of the FDNY in 2014. 

(*25*) Carl Jr. says. “I like to think he’s proud knowing that we’ve taken similar steps.”

Marc was 12 when Carl Sr. died, and soon adopted his big brother. Marc, and then Rebecca accomplished the circle. 

Rebecca was 9 when her father died, and she remembers the last night time she interacted with him.

Before going to mattress on September 10, 2001, Rebecca Asaro requested her dad, Carl, for a pack of mints. 

“In the morning, I saw him leaving them on my nightstand,” recollects Rebecca, who was 9 at the time. “He kissed me goodbye before he went to work.”

That was the last time Rebecca noticed her father.

Rebecca works at the same firehouse as her father – Firehouse 54 – and says her dad is her superhero.

“I know my dad’s with me,” Rebecca says. “It brings me a lot of pride and honor to know that I’m literally walking in my dad’s footsteps.”

The Asaro siblings say that having to grow up without their father taught them resilience. What is even more great about the Asaro siblings’ story is that it’s being shared as half of an academic collection through Scholastic (see the X post and video below). 

As our RedState Managing Editor Jen Van Laar wrote, we need to share our firsthand, personal tales of 9/11 because now we have an complete era who have never skilled a pre-9/11 world, and will never absolutely perceive the weight and the accountability to “Never Forget,” unless it’s handed down by those who do.

Carl, Jr., Matt, Marc, and Rebecca are doing their half to guarantee their father Carl Asaro, Sr., and others, are never forgotten.

Teach college students how the Asaro siblings honor the reminiscence of their father, a hero of 9/11, with this free issue of Scholastic News 3 🧑‍🚒

Access articles, videos, and more educating sources for grade 3 right here: https://t.co/GOPMrDQOCc pic.twitter.com/1RMCIG61K8

— Scholastic Teachers (@ScholasticEdu) August 27, 2026

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Editor’s Note: At RedState, it isn’t all about politics and coverage. We like to carry consideration to what’s good in the world, with columns like “Feel-Good Friday,” “Start Your Weekend Right,” and “Hoge’s Heroes.”

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