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PEOPLE’s Feb. 25, 2002 cover with the children of 9/11.
For nearly two decades,PEOPLE has documented the journeyof children whose fathers died on 9/11, before they were born, from newborns in their mother’s arms through their teen years. (At right, a 2002 PEOPLE cover featuring 31 moms and babies left behind.)
02of 14(L-R) Jamie Gartenberg Pila, Gabi Jacobs-Dick, Alexa Smagala and Ronald Milam Jr. — the teenagers featured inRebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11.Victoria StevensBorn into history, the teens in the documentary —Jamie Gartenberg Pila,Gabi Jacobs-Dick,Alexa Smagalaand Ronald Milam Jr. — have a knowingness about the fragility of life.Read on for more of their moving stories.
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(L-R) Jamie Gartenberg Pila, Gabi Jacobs-Dick, Alexa Smagala and Ronald Milam Jr. — the teenagers featured inRebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11.Victoria Stevens
Born into history, the teens in the documentary —Jamie Gartenberg Pila,Gabi Jacobs-Dick,Alexa Smagalaand Ronald Milam Jr. — have a knowingness about the fragility of life.
Read on for more of their moving stories.
03of 14Ronald Milam Jr.Victoria Stevens"It’s pretty cool if people see us as signs of hope," saysRonald Milam Jr., 19, whose father, Army Major Ronald Milam Sr., died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. “We’re just being ourselves.”
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Ronald Milam Jr.Victoria Stevens
“It’s pretty cool if people see us as signs of hope,” saysRonald Milam Jr., 19, whose father, Army Major Ronald Milam Sr., died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. “We’re just being ourselves.”
04of 14Ronald Milam Jr. in 2011.Nigel Parry/The Licensing ProjectMilam Jr., pictured here in 2011, has a special way of keeping his dad close to his heart, he told PEOPLE in 2016.“I wear number 33 because that’s the age my dad was when he was killed on 9/11,” Ronald Jr., a basketball player,shared. “When I’m wearing that number, it’s for him.”
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Ronald Milam Jr. in 2011.Nigel Parry/The Licensing Project
Milam Jr., pictured here in 2011, has a special way of keeping his dad close to his heart, he told PEOPLE in 2016.
“I wear number 33 because that’s the age my dad was when he was killed on 9/11,” Ronald Jr., a basketball player,shared. “When I’m wearing that number, it’s for him.”
05of 14Gabi Jacobs Dick.Victoria Stevens"I have no tangible memories of my dad, so there’s nothing concrete," saysGabi Jacobs Dick, 19. “I can’t grieve him the way my mother does. She can recall memories. For me, it’s not so much a missing feeling, as a longing. I have questions and ideas. But I don’t askwhat-ifquestions. There’s no answer.”
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Gabi Jacobs Dick.Victoria Stevens
“I have no tangible memories of my dad, so there’s nothing concrete,” saysGabi Jacobs Dick, 19. “I can’t grieve him the way my mother does. She can recall memories. For me, it’s not so much a missing feeling, as a longing. I have questions and ideas. But I don’t askwhat-ifquestions. There’s no answer.”
06of 14Nigel Parry/The Licensing ProjectJacobs Dickalso spoke to PEOPLE in 2016about an unspoken bond he shares with his late father.“Some people believe in God or the greater power, but I believe in the people that loved you or would have loved you sticking around after they die and guiding you through whatever troubles you have in life,” said Jacobs Dick, pictured here in 2011. “But I also know he’s out there – somewhere, guiding me along my path in life.”
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Nigel Parry/The Licensing Project
Jacobs Dickalso spoke to PEOPLE in 2016about an unspoken bond he shares with his late father.
“Some people believe in God or the greater power, but I believe in the people that loved you or would have loved you sticking around after they die and guiding you through whatever troubles you have in life,” said Jacobs Dick, pictured here in 2011. “But I also know he’s out there – somewhere, guiding me along my path in life.”
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Courtesy Jacobs-Dick Family
08of 14Jamie Gartenberg Pila.Victoria Stevens"I find that I’m constantly reminding myself of the balance between grieving, but still moving on and moving forward," says Nicole Gartenberg Pila. She and her younger sisterJamie(pictured), 19, lost their father, Jim Gartenberg, who was killed in Tower 1.
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Jamie Gartenberg Pila.Victoria Stevens
“I find that I’m constantly reminding myself of the balance between grieving, but still moving on and moving forward,” says Nicole Gartenberg Pila. She and her younger sisterJamie(pictured), 19, lost their father, Jim Gartenberg, who was killed in Tower 1.
09of 14Jamie Gartenberg Pila in 2011.Nigel Parry/The Licensing Project"My mom tells me all the time that I’m like [my dad],“Gartenberg Pila(here in 2011) told PEOPLE in 2016. “She says I’m brave like him.”
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Jamie Gartenberg Pila in 2011.Nigel Parry/The Licensing Project
“My mom tells me all the time that I’m like [my dad],“Gartenberg Pila(here in 2011) told PEOPLE in 2016. “She says I’m brave like him.”
10of 14Jamie Gartenberg Pila and her mom Jill Gartenberg Pila.Courtesy Pila FamilyJill Pila was three months pregnant with Jamie on 9/11, and welcomed her daughter six months and one day after the tragedy. “He had to know that he was not making it out of there,” Jill recalls of 9/11, when her husbandbriefly called into WABCafter the first plane hit.
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Jamie Gartenberg Pila and her mom Jill Gartenberg Pila.Courtesy Pila Family
Jill Pila was three months pregnant with Jamie on 9/11, and welcomed her daughter six months and one day after the tragedy. “He had to know that he was not making it out of there,” Jill recalls of 9/11, when her husbandbriefly called into WABCafter the first plane hit.
11of 14Alexa Smagala.Victoria Stevens"What happened to my dad,” saysAlexa Smagala, whose father was firefighter Stan Smagala, “made me who I am today — and I want people to know that.”
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Alexa Smagala.Victoria Stevens
“What happened to my dad,” saysAlexa Smagala, whose father was firefighter Stan Smagala, “made me who I am today — and I want people to know that.”
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Alexa Smagala in 2011.Nigel Parry/The Licensing Project
13of 14erica BergerFor the widowed moms, these babies were “the last kiss, the last gift” from husbands and partners,says Dena Smagala, pictured here kissing newborn Alexa, who was born on Dec. 9, 2001.
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erica Berger
For the widowed moms, these babies were “the last kiss, the last gift” from husbands and partners,says Dena Smagala, pictured here kissing newborn Alexa, who was born on Dec. 9, 2001.
14of 14PEOPLE’s cover.Victoria StevensFor more on the children of 9/11, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere. And don’t missRebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11,streaming exclusively on discovery+beginning Sept. 7.
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PEOPLE’s cover.Victoria Stevens
For more on the children of 9/11, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere. And don’t missRebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11,streaming exclusively on discovery+beginning Sept. 7.
source: people.com
