The Wantagh Warrior 9/11 Committee is continuing to expand its efforts to ensure that younger generations never forget the impact of the Sept. 11 attacks, as it raises funds for a permanent memorial, student scholarships and educational trips to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Created in 2023, the committee grew out of conversations among school administrators and staff who felt the district needed a more lasting tribute to the lives lost in the attacks, including those of Wantagh residents.
“We really do live by that mantra of ‘Never forget,’” Christopher Widmann, assistant principal of Wantagh High School, said. “We want students to understand the impact that it had on our country and on the people who lived and worked in this community.”
The district has long held moments of silence and read the names of Wantagh residents who died each year, Waldman said, but staff members wanted to create something more permanent and meaningful for students born after the attacks.
“All of our kids that go to school now were born after 9/11,” Widmann said. “The only recollection they have is from word of mouth or from a textbook.”
The committee launched the Wantagh Warriors 9/11 5K in 2024 as its primary fundraiser to support several initiatives, including discounted trips for Wantagh High juniors to the 9/11 Memorial, scholarships for graduating seniors, teacher grant programs and the eventual construction of a memorial on school grounds. The event has already become a major community gathering, drawing more than 750 runners in its first year and similar participation last year, according to district officials.
In addition to the race, the day includes a children’s fun run, raffles, sponsor tents and appearances by local first responders. The Nassau County Police Department and the Wantagh Fire Department have also supported the event, and an American flag has been displayed over Wantagh Avenue during the race.
Wantagh High Principal Paul Guzzone said the committee recently spent nearly $10,000 to help fund this year’s museum trip, covering about 80 percent of the cost for students. Economically disadvantaged students attend free of charge.
“We felt this should really be a rite of passage,” Guzzone said. “We didn’t want the cost to prevent students from having that experience.”
The district’s partnership with the Gary Sinise Foundation has played a major role in shaping the committee’s mission. The high school previously participated in the foundation’s Soaring Valor program, which connected students with World War II veterans in New Orleans. The school later became the first in the country to participate in the foundation’s student 9/11 museum program.
“I can tell you firsthand just how proud our founder, Gary Sinise, is to see so many grateful Americans, like himself, at Wantagh High School, who, in a nutshell, [are] the epitome of our educational mission to ensure that these incredible stories of service and sacrifice after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, continue to transcend future generations,” Jim Ravella, the foundation’s executive vice president, said of the actor. “What began for Wantagh High School as a student trip to the National World War II Museum and National September 11th Memorial & Museum has evolved into a schoolwide effort to honor our nation’s heroes and their families through initiatives like their annual Wantagh Warrior 9/11 Memorial 5K and scholarships for students with service members or first responders in their families, initiatives we were honored to support.”
Ravella added that as the 25th anniversary of the attacks nears, the foundation plans to expand its educational initiatives to connect students to additional memorials and museums nationwide, including the Flight 93 Memorial, so it can inspire more schools to learn about and preserve those lessons of leadership and heroism.
Guzzone said the experiences have deeply impacted students and staff alike. Following its first Soaring Valor trip, the district invited several World War II veterans to graduation and presented them with honorary diplomas. One veteran revealed that it was the first diploma he had ever received after leaving school early to enlist during the war.
The committee has also awarded scholarships to graduating seniors for their community service and leadership. This year, seven scholarships will be presented at a ceremony on May 28.
Looking ahead, officials say the committee’s largest goal remains the creation of a permanent 9/11 memorial on school grounds. Organizers estimate the project will cost more than $150,000, and hope to complete it in 202.
