York students remember 9/11 with volunteer’s firsthand account

 

Before Hank Molinengo was “Grandpa Hank”, the beloved Springfield Public Schools volunteer, he was Rear Admiral Molinengo in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at The Pentagon when it was struck by American Airlines Flight 77 during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Today, Grandpa Hank visited York Elementary School to talk with the students about his experience during the tragedy and why the U.S. takes time to remember the day each year. 

Molinengo spoke with the students about the freedoms Americans have through the Constitution and how the events of Sept. 11, 2001 threatened those freedoms. He followed up this discussion by citing Mr. Rogers’ famous quote to “look for the helpers” and talked about the different kinds of first responders that help during tragedies and the types of aid they offer. 

“As we were leaving The Pentagon, we were obviously scared and concerned about what was going to happen once we left the building,” said Molinengo. “We didn’t know who was out there. But we saw all these helpers. All these first responders: medical personnel, police officers, SWAT teams coming over to protect us and to help us.”

Students were divided into three groups based on grade level, so they could cover these sensitive topics in ways that were most age appropriate. Each group of students had the chance to not only hear Molinengo’s story, but also ask him questions and talk about these bigger ideas of what happened and what it means to live in a free country. 

“We love our country, but our country is not perfect,” Molinengo said. “There are things we need to work on and improve on, but we know that because we are free we have the tools, the ability and the opportunity to be able to do that.”