Heroes turn out to Qulin Elementary

The morning of Sept. 11, Qulin Elementary School was busy as first responders and National Guard members mixed in with students.

As part of classes, students met with firefighters, EMS, Butler County Sheriff’s Department deputies and local members of the National Guard to talk about what they do as part of their jobs.

Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the day became known nationally as Patriot Day, which Qulin Elementary School celebrates as Heroes Day.

Officer Brett Campbell with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office shows students how handcuffs work on teacher Bridget Patterson. DAR/Michael Shine

“The reason that we do celebrate Hero Day on 9/11 is because the World Trade Center was struck by two rather large airplanes and it wasn’t but moments later that firefighters, law enforcement and National Guard showed up to Ground Zero,” Cpl. Derek House with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department told the second-grade students. “With those buildings still on fire, with rubble still coming down, men of law enforcement, firefighters, National Guard went into those buildings because they went to go help people.

“Those men knew that there was a good certainty that they weren’t going to come back out, that they probably weren’t going to be able to go home that night. But they also knew there were people in those buildings that needed help.”

Along with celebrating those first responders, House said Hero Day is designed to recognize others who gave their lives during 9/11, such as the civilians who intercepted the hijackers on Flight 93 and caused it to crash into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, rather than another national landmark.

“There were good men and women just like you, just like your teachers and just like your mom and dad that realized what was going on,” he said. “Don’t think that you have to be a cop or a firefighter.

“If you see something that’s going horribly wrong, sometimes you just have to take action with who you are.

“Who knows how many countless lives those women and men saved by having that plane crash into that field rather than another one of our buildings.”