I was 35 when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, and now I am 60. In 25 years, the somberness and heaviness remain, and I am sure it is that way for many Americans. So, it is appropriate that as a country we continue to set aside this day for mourning, reflection, and to honor the fallen.
If there is any "feel good" element to remembering the 2,977 souls who lost their lives that day, and the thousands of others who subsequently died as a result of injury and illness from the environmental fallout of the Towers' collapse, it is hearing the stories of the family members and children (now adults) who created beauty from the ashes and the gaping loss left from that day.
There are many children of 9/11 victims who have started charities and organizations to honor their loved ones, and many others who have followed in the footsteps of their first responder parents. Four of the children of firefighter Carl Asaro have done just that, becoming 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 originally supposed to work on 9/11. But a fellow firefighter had asked him to cover his shift that day. Shortly after 8:46 a.m., a call came into their firehouse: A plane had hit the North Tower.
A second plane slammed into the South Tower 17 minutes later. Firefighters, police officers, and other emergency workers rushed to the World Trade Center. As panicked people ran from the burning skyscrapers, Carl and other first responders did the opposite.
Carl was assigned to set up a command center at the South Tower. There, he would help coordinate efforts to fight 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 30 minutes later. The six Asaro kids and their mom spent days waiting to find 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 lost their lives in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Now, 25 years later, Carl Asaro, Jr., Matt Asaro, Marc Asaro and Rebecca Asaro are a part of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) family. It is their way of honoring the father they lost.
Carl Jr. was the first, joining the FDNY in 2014.
“It’s been the best decision I ever made,” 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 followed his big brother. Marc, and then Rebecca completed the circle.
Rebecca was nine when her father died, and she remembers the last night she interacted with him.
Before going to bed on September 10, 2001, Rebecca Asaro asked her dad, Carl, for a pack of mints.
“In the morning, I saw him leaving them on my nightstand,” recalls Rebecca, who was 9 at the time. “He kissed me goodbye before he went to work.”
That was the last time Rebecca saw 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 wonderful about the Asaro siblings' story is that it is being shared as part of an educational series 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 stories of 9/11 because we have an entire generation who have never experienced a pre-9/11 world, and will never fully understand the weight and the responsibility to "Never Forget," unless it is passed down by those who do.
Carl, Jr., Matt, Marc, and Rebecca are doing their part to ensure their father Carl Asaro, Sr., and others, are never forgotten.
Teach students how the Asaro siblings honor the memory of their father, a hero of 9/11, with this free issue of Scholastic News 3 🧑🚒
— Scholastic Teachers (@ScholasticEdu) August 27, 2026
Access articles, videos, and more teaching resources for grade 3 here: https://t.co/GOPMrDQOCc pic.twitter.com/1RMCIG61K8
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Editor's Note: At RedState, it's not all about politics and policy. We like to bring attention 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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