PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Lee Ielpi retired after 26 years with the New York City Fire Department.
“I would love to fight one more fire.”
Lee’s oldest son, Jonathan, followed in his footsteps but was killed on September 11, 2001.
His firehouse lost all 19 men that day.
“Nobody went home," Lee said.
Lee spoke at Palm Harbor’s remembrance ceremony last year and stressed the need to educate children about 9/11.
State Representative Adam Anderson said it was those words that inspired him to push for a law requiring a September 11 lesson be taught on this day every year.
Now, 9/11 Hero’s Day is a Florida law.
All middle and high school students will have at least 45 minutes of curriculum about September 11.
Ielpi told me he likes to think his son chose him to make it his mission to educate others.
“It’s because of him that I’m here. It’s because of him that we speak about education. It’s about him being able for me to speak about it last year and the state of Florida taking action, which is monumental for the state of Florida," said Ielpi.
Not every teacher waited for this law to pass to talk about September 11.
Westlake Christian School media specialist Sara Yarrow said the attacks happened on her second day as a student teacher.
“So since then, I’ve been attempting to explain the unexplainable and to give children and parents a stepping stone to talking about a situation that is very difficult to explain," said Yarrow.
Many children born long after September 11 understand the lessons.
Maggie Leone won a contest for writing an essay.
“America did prevail, but it was not only because of those who lived. It was also because of those who died," Leone said, reading from her essay.
“When I speak, I speak about enlightenment. Without that, the horrible thought that history will repeat itself, it will repeat itself," said Ielpi.
Palm Harbor’s 9/11 remembrance is made even more special by the monument built here.
It includes a piece of steel from the Twin Towers in between a granite replica of the World Trade Center.
The monument honors everyone associated with September 11, including the rescue and recovery workers who continue to die every day.
