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Retired New York Police Department Sgt. Scott Zink and former New York Transit Authority emergency-response worker Hector Soto speak to students Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at Pleasant Grove High School. (Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald)

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A 9/11 exhibit is shown Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at Pleasant Grove High School. (Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald)

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Former New York Transit Authority emergency-response worker Hector Soto speaks to students Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at Pleasant Grove High School. (Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald)

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Retired New York Police Department Sgt. Scott Zink speaks to students Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at Pleasant Grove High School. (Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald)

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Anyone old enough to remember the 9/11 attacks can plainly recount where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news on Sept. 11, 2001.

A quarter century after the terrorist attacks, though, means an entire generation is growing up with no memory of the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in American history.

With the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaching next week, one high school is doing its part to ensure its students recognize the tragedy and the significance of 9/11.

On Tuesday, Pleasant Grove High School School Resource Officer Chris Ruiz invited two 9/11 first responders to share their experiences with students: Retired New York Police Department Sgt. Scott Zink and retired New York Transit Authority emergency-response worker Hector Soto, who are both now Utah residents.

The men spent hours recounting memories of the events that transpired as well as their firsthand accounts of responding to the attacks and helping with the relief efforts.

“I want (the students) to know the sacrifices and the dedication of the people that went to try and help,” Zink said. “I want them to know that the country came together and, as a unit, said, ‘No, this isn’t going to happen, and we’re going to help.’ I want them to remember history.”

Added Soto: “They need to be educated because our country was attacked. They weren’t around. Most of them don’t know anything about it. But we give them first-hand account and first-hand knowledge of what actually happened that day, and let them know, ‘Hey, this is real.'”

Zink said he arrived on the scene in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, and worked to organize teams to enter the World Trade Center towers but was not assigned to go into the towers himself. After both towers collapsed, he got a crew together and was assigned to collect any rescue gear that was still available.

“Over half our vehicles were destroyed,” he said. “The vehicle I came in was destroyed. All my rescue gear and my personal gear were in it.”

Then, the searches for survivors began. They brought in specialized rescue equipment, then tracked down construction crews and worked to clear a path for heavy equipment to come in, removing debris and cars.

Zink said he worked nonstop 100-plus-hour weeks, coordinating removal efforts, which included getting steelworkers to cut up massive steel beams and looking for any survivors.

“The task that was ahead of us was ungodly,” Zink said. “We just stuck our nose down and we just started working. More people in as more people came. We started dividing and conquering.”

Soto was part of a “bucket brigade” that helped manually remove debris from the wreckage and also did cleanup in the subway system. He said he lost a lot of coworkers that he’d worked with for more than 25 years, and that he is honored to carry their stories forward.

“I like to say that I’m the voice of the voiceless because they’re not here to tell their story anymore. But I’m still alive and I can tell that story, and it’s as real as it gets,” Soto said. 

Both of the men said it is hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the attacks.

“You can’t unring the bell of what I saw,” Soto said. “There’s just some things you can’t unsee.”