Actor Gary Sinise is among a growing number of advocates, educators and organizations working to ensure the history of Sept. 11 doesn’t fade as a new generation grows up with no memory of the attacks.
His foundation provides free educational trips to Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA — and he’s now part of a new documentary that will “live on and on and be part of the canon” around the Trade Center tragedy.
“It’s not just about how America was attacked but remembering how Americans answered,” Sinise, 71, told The Post. “We want to change the slogan ‘Never forget’ that was made by people who were there to witness the Trade Center tragedies to ‘We remember,’ for future generations who weren’t there and only know it as a story someone told them.”
On a recent post where he invites those who lived through the 9/11 tragedy to share their personal stories, the “Apollo 13” actor said: “The memories you share today can help future generations understand what 9/11 meant to our country and why we made a promise to never forget.”
Sinise also lends his voice to the powerful new documentary “The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph,” produced and directed by Michael Gier and premiering Sept. 8 at AMC Empire 25 in Times Square.
Executive producer Chris Meek heads up SoldierStrong and the 9/11 Legacy Foundation, which provides a comprehensive national educational curriculum designed for students of all ages.
The star has spent decades supporting military members, veterans and their families through the The Gary Sinise Foundation, which he founded in 2011.
Others are recognizing the critical importance of 9/11 education.
The College of Staten Island, Tunnel to Towers and the Carl V. Bini Memorial Fund, in partnership with Staten island Live, are developing a video-based curriculum about 911.
“As the 25th year approaches of Sept. 11, we see time has passed and like we’ve seen with other tragedies and other things that have happened in our country’s history, people started to forget. The one thing that’s different on Sept. 11, in my opinion and in most people’s reality, is the fact there is no real curriculum and there is no real story,” Massimo DiDonna, founder and president of the Carl V. Bini Memorial Fund said to SILive.com
The curriculum will be offered at the college, and the videos will appear on SILive.com.
New York City Council speaker Julie Menin recently announced that $1 million has been allocated for free school field trips to the 9/11 museum.
“As we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11, it is more important than ever that a new generation of New Yorkers understands what happened that day and carries forward the stories of those we lost,” said Menin.
Beth Hillman, President & CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum added:. “There are 100 million Americans alive today who are too young to remember 9/11, and that’s why our educational programming is so vital.”
