Timothy S. Whitcomb Sheriff at Cattaraugus County | Official website
Timothy S. Whitcomb Sheriff at Cattaraugus County | Official website
As the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, approaches, the Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Library has released a new educational film featuring local officials and veterans to recount that pivotal day in American history.
Part of the ongoing “Our Veterans, Their Stories” project, the film is titled “9/11: What a Vet Wants You to Know” and is available for viewing on the museum’s YouTube channel. This film is the second installment in the “What a Vet Wants You to Know” series, an education-specific offshoot aimed at recording oral histories of Cattaraugus County veterans. The first film in this series focused on the Vietnam War.
These films are designed to leverage the experiences and knowledge of area veterans in a format intended to fit with high school social studies curricula and be shown to local students. The project was developed with assistance from Katie Wolfgang, an educator from the Olean City School District.
“9/11 was a major turning point in American history and to be able to collect and use oral histories from people who were in New York City that day is a powerful tool for enhancing the curriculum and engaging students in content at the beginning of the school year,” explained Wolfgang.
Steve McCord, director of the Cattaraugus County Veterans Service Agency who participated in the film, echoed Wolfgang’s sentiment. “It is important that we teach our children about 9/11. This is an event that fundamentally changed America; it simply cannot be relegated to the archives,” he said.
One driving factor behind creating this film was recognizing that no current high school students were alive when these events occurred, often resulting in a distant understanding of their significance.
John Tomerlin, videographer on the project, stated, “I think the project is important because there is a whole generation that knows we were attacked on 9/11 but really have very little understanding as to what led up to it. It can also help gain an understanding of our current relationships with Islamic countries.”
While primarily intended for use by local teachers presenting this topic, museum staff hope that anyone interested will take advantage of this resource.
“9/11: What a Vet Wants You to Know” can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rHWPFAPlFs
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