A 9/11 anniversary tradition is handed down to a new generation

NEW YORK (AP) — A poignant phrase echoes when 9/11 victims' relatives gather each year to remember the loved ones they lost in the terror attacks.

“I never got to meet you.”

It is the sound of generational change at ground zero, where relatives read out victims' names on every anniversary of the attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

Some names are read out by children or young adults who were born after the strikes. Last year’s observance featured 28 such young people among more than 140 readers. Young people are expected again at this year's ceremony Wednesday.

Some are the children of victims whose partners were pregnant. More of the young readers are victims' nieces, nephews or grandchildren. They have inherited stories, photos, and a sense of solemn responsibility.

Being a “9/11 family” reverberates through generations, and commemorating and understanding the Sept. 11 attacks one day will be up to a world with no first-hand memory of them.

“It’s like you’re passing the torch on,” says Allan Aldycki, 13.

He read the names of his grandfather and several other people the last two years, and plans to do so on on Wednesday. Aldycki keeps mementoes in his room from his grandfather Allan Tarasiewicz, a firefighter.

The teen told the audience last year that he’s heard so much about his grandfather that it feels like he knew him, “but still, I wish I had a chance to really know you,” he added.

Allan volunteered to be a reader because it makes him feel closer to his grandfather, and he hopes to have children who’ll participate.

“It’s an honor to be able to teach them because you can let them know their heritage and what to never forget,” he said by phone from central New York. He said he already finds himself teaching peers who know little or nothing about 9/11.

When it comes time for the ceremony, he looks up information about the lives of each person whose name he’s assigned to read.

“He reflects on everything and understands the importance of what it means to somebody,” his mother, Melissa Tarasiewicz, said.

Reciting the names of the dead is a tradition that extends beyond ground zero. War memorials honor fallen military members by speaking their names aloud. Some Jewish organizations host readings of Holocaust victims’ names on the international day of remembrance, Yom Hashoah.

The names of the 168 people killed in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City are read annually at the memorial there.

On Sept. 11 anniversaries, the Pentagon’s ceremony includes military members or officials reading the names of the 184 people killed there. The Flight 93 National Memorial has victims’ relatives and friends read the list of the 40 passengers and crew members whose lives ended at the rural site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The hourslong observance at the 9/11 Memorial in New York is almost exclusively dedicated to the names of the 2,977 victims at all three sites, plus the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. All are read by relatives who volunteer and are chosen by lottery.

Each is given a subset of names to render aloud. Readers also generally speak briefly about their own lost kin, frequently in touching detail.

“I think often about how, if you were still here, you would be one of my best friends, looking at colleges with me, getting me out of trouble with Mom and Dad, hanging out at the Jersey Shore,” Capri Yarosz said last year of her slain uncle, New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo.

Now 17, she grew up with a homemade baby book about him and a family that still mentions him in everyday conversation.

“Chris would have loved that” is a phrase often heard around the house.

She has read twice at the trade center ceremony.

“It means a lot to me that I can kind of keep alive my uncle’s name and just keep reading everybody else’s name, so that more of the upcoming generations will know,” she said by phone from her family’s home in central New Jersey. “I feel good that I can pass down the importance of what happened.”

Her two younger sisters also have read names, and one is preparing to do so again Wednesday. Their mother, Pamela Yarosz, has never been able to steel herself to sign up.

“I don’t have that strength. It’s too hard for me,” says Pamela Yarosz, who is Mozzillo’s sister. “They’re braver.”

Callaway Treble, 18, says his generation of 9/11 families needs to carry forward the victims' memory. He lost his aunt Gabriela Silvina Waisman, a software company office manager.

“We use the term ‘never forget’ for 9/11 all the time, but keeping that in practice and making sure we actually don't forget that thousands of people died in an attack on our country, that's extremely important. So I feel like it’s our responsibility to do that,” said Treble, who has read names multiple times since he was 13.

By now, many of the children of 9/11 victims — such as Melissa Tarasiewicz, who was just out of high school when her father died — have long since grown up. But about 100 were born after the attacks killed one of their parents, and are now young adults.

“Though we never met, I am honored to carry your name and legacy with me. I thank you for giving me this life and family,” Manuel DaMota Jr. said of his father, a woodworker and project manager, during last year’s ceremony.

One young reader after another at the event commemorated aunts, uncles, great-uncles, grandfathers and grandmothers whom the children have missed throughout their lives.

“My whole life, my dad has said I reminded him of you.”

“I wish you got to take me fishing.”

“I wish I had more of you than just a picture on a frame.”

“Even though I never got to meet you, I will never forget you.”

Pamela Yarosz and her daughter Capri, relatives of New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo, are photographed Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Freehold,N.J.. Mozzillo, who died in the 9/11 attacks, was Pamela's brother. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Pamela Yarosz holds the 9/11 Medal of Valor that was given to her brother and New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo, who died in the 9/11 attacks, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Freehold, N.J.. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

A photo of New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo, who died in the 9/11 attacks, with his 9/11 Medal of Valor is shown, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Freehold, N.J.. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Capri Yarosz holds a photo of New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Freehold, N.J.. Mozzillo, who died in the 9/11 attacks, was Yarosz's uncle. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Pamela Yarosz and her daughter Capri are shown with a photo of New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Freehold, N.J.. Mozzillo, who died in the 9/11 attacks, was Pamela's brother. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The yard lines weren't the only things lost in the early winter squall that swept off Lake Erie and turned Huntington Bank Stadium into a snow globe on Thursday night.

The “good vibes only" mindset that carried the Pittsburgh Steelers through two-plus months of solid if not always spectacular football disappeared in a 24-19 loss to last-place Cleveland.

Over three eventful hours, all the ingredients of a classic “trap game” the Steelers (8-3) were hoping to avoid created a recipe with an all-too-familiar aftertaste of regret and missed opportunities,.

A bit of immaturity from wide receiver George Pickens, who got into an MMA-style exchange with an opposing defensive back ... again.

A pinch of frustration from normally stoic defensive tackle Cam Heyward, who vented afterward about being held on a decisive snap.

An ounce — OK, several ounces — of confusion from a coaching staff that couldn't seem to decide whether to accept a late Browns penalty and then compounded it by taking a valuable timeout immediately afterward when the defense couldn't get lined up right.

A dash of curious game planning, one that included inserting backup quarterback Justin Fields in high-leverage situations, most notably on third-and-6 with less than 5 minutes to go with the game still in the balance. The gambit that worked beautifully in an emotional victory over Baltimore last Sunday was a decidedly more mixed bag this time around.

Add it all up and the result was Pittsburgh's fifth loss in its last seven trips to Cleveland, squandering a chance to move closer to its first AFC North title in four years.

“We have a lot of football left,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “We have a lot of opportunities to respond in the highest way, (the) highest level. I think everything that we want is still in front of us.”

Yet a team that's been one of the league's bigger surprises failed to avoid a misstep and provided a reminder that for all the good things it has done of late, the Steelers remain a work in progress.

“It is very deflating,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. "We need to close out games and we were not able to do that tonight. It sucks that we could not hold on, but a loss is a loss.”

Wilson's moonball. Even amid the snowflakes and quick deteriorating conditions, Wilson was unafraid to let the ball fly. Wilson averaged a healthy 12.9 yards per completion, including deep shots to Pickens, Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III, the last a 23-yard flip to the end zone that Austin cradled to give the Steelers a late lead.

If there's one thing that Wilson has shown during his first five starts, it's the situation — be it the score, the down, the time left on the clock or the weather — is immaterial. He will throw it where he wants when he wants, regardless of the circumstance.

The final numbers for the offense — namely 368 yards and 35 minutes of possession — were good. The eye test, however, was another matter.

The line had trouble protecting Wilson, giving up four sacks, and generating push when it mattered. Take out a 30-yard sprint by Fields and Pittsburgh averaged less than 3 yards per carry on the ground.

The Steelers had the ball with under 5 minutes to go knowing two or three first downs would win in it. So middling runs and one ill-advised pass down the sideline by Fields later, Pittsburgh punted and momentum swung one last time.

Outside linebacker Nick Herbig shows a more than passable T.J. Watt impression when healthy. Herbig's strip-sack of Jameis Winston midway through the fourth quarter set up Austin's go-ahead touchdown. Herbig now had 3 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles despite missing four games with a hamstring injury.

Pickens displays anger issues, particularly when things don't go his way. The third-year wideout had his third very public, strikingly violent outburst in two months when he got into it with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome III after a last-gasp Hail Mary fell incomplete.

The NFL fined Pickens more than $10,000 after he grabbed Dallas defensive back Jourdan Lewis by the facemask at the end of a loss in October. Two weeks ago Pickens and Washington's Mike Sainristil exchanged punches following an interception.

The volatile Pickens is by far Pittsburgh's best playmaker. Yet with the stakes likely raised in the coming weeks, he needs to keep his emotions in check if he wants to make sure he stays on the field.

Pittsburgh could have starting outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (ankle) back when they visit Cincinnati on Dec. 1. Highsmith has missed the last two games and five overall this season.

0-8 — head coach Mike Tomlin's career record on the road in Thursday night games against AFC North opponents.

Rest up and prepare for a finishing stretch that starts with a visit to the underperforming but still dangerous Bengals. Pittsburgh swept the season series from Cincinnati last year.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson throws a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. The Browns won 24-19. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) reacts after missing a pass in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. The Browns won 24-19. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches from the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)