Central Coast residents share their 9/11 stories

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Many of us can remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard or saw images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.

Twenty years later, generations of Central Coast residents can still remember the impacts 9/11 had on their lives. Some people had just started their workday, kids and teens were sitting in their classrooms, while others went about their day.

“It gets me now," said David Avilla of Salinas, who was holding back tears. "I served in the military, my dad did. And I just anticipated what this was going to bring to us having this happen to the United States.”

Avilla says he was at work when he heard the news on the television. He immediately went to see what was going on. "I was horrified when the second aircraft went into the building. It’s one of those instances in history for me that I can remember. When JFK was shot and I knew where I was then.”

For those who were younger, they tried to make sense of the horrific events. “I know that there’s no way that I could really understand what was going on but I remember the feeling. And just the feeling that something was wrong,” Kailynn Harbert of Prunedale.

Harbert was just a kid at the time. He recalls seeing the massive headline in the local newspaper the next day.
9/11 forever changed America. It's a piece of us and our history, now shared with a generation learning about the series of terrorist attacks from passed down stories, archived images, and books.

“It’s hard to explain to them (pointing to her two daughters) because I think the first thing that students, children, are exposed to are the pictures and the video images rather than really understating the story behind it," Eugenie Adams of Marina.

Adams says she was a freshman, attending college in the Bay Area. Her college was evacuated that day over fears of another large city being targeted.

For the next generation who have no memory of the events; those who do say it's important to talk to future generations about 9/11. “Not only has this probably impacted your parents or your grandparents. Sit down and take time to talk to them about it,” said Avilla.

Never forgetting, is what several different Central Coast Communities will be doing on Saturday, September 11th, 2021. There are several different events taking place to remember 9/11,  from Salinas to King City to Santa Cruz. A full list can be found here.