John Spade was a newborn on September 11.

What he knows of the day comes from stories told by his family, most notably, his father, Bill. Bill was a firefighter who responded to the World Trade Center from Staten Island with Rescue 5. He was the only one of his firehouse to return home alive.

What You Need To Know

  • The 9/11 Memorial opened in 2011, the Museum opened in 2014

  • Volunteers at the Museum include 9/11 first responders, loved-ones of those who died on that day, and children of first responders

  • The Museum provides online educational resources in an effort to keep the memory of those who died alive for future generations

"Your father was working on this site on September 11, as you were growing up. Did you appreciate all of this in the same way that you do by being here in this room?" anchor Pat Kiernan asked of John Spade. 

"My experience of September 11 was having him teach it to me through going on his tours. So it was a very gradual understanding. It definitely wasn't until I came to work with the museum, that I was really able to appreciate the space as a whole. Whereas before I was just trying to pull bits and pieces together," Spade said. 

John, and his father, are both docents at the 9/11 Museum, volunteers who give tours to visitors. The museum opened in 2014. Seven stories underground, the exhibits include the last steel column removed from the rubble, a severely damaged fire truck, and hundreds of personal items recovered from those who died that day. 

“Were you drawn to this because of the family experience?" Kiernan asked. 

"I was drawn to it because of my family's experience. And also because there's not really a place in New York that you go, that people don't have a 9/11 story. Everyone wants to tell you right when they meet you. So I thought it would be something that's important to know, and it affected so many people," Spade said. 

The museum opened with a goal to memorialize the victims and educate the next generation. It sees itself as a place that evolves over time.

"We're 20 years out this September, which is the lifespan of a generation. There is a whole generation of people who've come into the world since 9/11 who have no lived memory of 9/11," said Clifford Chanin, the executive vice president and deputy director for museum programs at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. 

As the 20th anniversary of the attacks approaches, the mission of the museum is to dive deeper into the history of the day and the events that followed is stronger than it ever was. Chanin sees parallels between the pandemic and the events of September 11. 

"Young people today are going through, as we all are, this terrible COVID crisis. And they see what it's like to live through a time of uncertainty and risk. And one of the things that we bring forward from the 9/11 period is under different circumstances, under different threats and different risks that society was faced with this idea of how to be resilient, how to get through," Chanin said. 

Coming together during a challenging time in our country’s history is a thread John weaves through every tour. 

"If there's one thing that you want the next generation to remember 20 years out, what is it?" Kiernan asked. 

"I think that it's important to remember how much our country came together. On that day, nobody was thinking about anything other than helping the person next to them and getting out together. I think that's a value that's always important, just knowing that you have to be there for everyone around you and everyone who survived 9/11 would tell you about the probably really positive outlook they have on life every day. They're so lucky to be alive," Spade said.