9/11 Through the Eyes of Children

Sept. 11, 2006 — -- In America's time of grief, their young words of wisdom echoed through the darkness.

Dozens of children wrote letters to the rescue workers who rushed to save those in need on Sept. 11, 2001.

Whether they lived five miles away or 500, their sentiment hit home.

"Dear firefighters: I hope that you all will help everybody that needs help. … It must be hard not to cry because of everybody that is missing," wrote Brittany Tassin from Louisiana, 10 years old at the time.

Michael Rieger wrote, "I admire your courage. I wish in some way that I could help you in New York. … Your bravery is admired by millions of children in the USA."

Their poignant letters said, in the simplest of ways, what all of America was thinking.

Adam Charnin-Aker was 7 then and living across the Hudson River in Syosset, N.Y.

"We were close enough to smell the ashes and so close that we weren't allowed to go outside for recess the next day at school … and you could see the smoke and it was horrific," wrote Adam, chronicling the unforgettable images from ground zero.

Brittany remembers watching the horror unfold.

"I was in my first class in 5th grade and my English teacher, Miss Arnold came in and she was like, turn on the TV, turn on the TV. … It was scary because all the people were just running, trying to find their family members and it was so horrible."

A Flood of Hope

A haven for rescue workers a block from the World Trade Center, the historic St. Paul's Chapel also became a clearinghouse of letters and drawings.

Workers from the U.S. Postal Service brought 13,000 there -- 12-year-old Keli Markley's letter was one of them.

"When I wrote the letter, I was just, I was just hoping that maybe someone would read it, a firefighter and they'd be tired and they'd be sweating, and then maybe hurting and then sad," Keli said. "And they'd really be empowered by it and just give them a little strength to go back out there."

Nine-year-old Michael's letter cried out for what everyone wanted: answers.

"I was a little sad at the moment and I really wanted to know why someone did this. Like who did it and why they did it," he said.

St. Paul's Chapel built an archive for these treasures. Many still hang there as a tribute to heroes, honor and hope.

"I never thought that my letter would be here," Brittany said. "It will always be a lasting memory for those who went through it and those who will come to know of it."

Helping Children Understand

In the post-9/11 world, it's inevitable that children will see images like those from ground zero and have questions about them.

ABC's Robin Roberts spoke with Melvin Oatis, a child psychiatrist at the NYU Child Study Center, to learn how adults could talk with children about terror.

Oatis stressed that while adults should allow kids to learn about attacks by watching TV and seeing photographs, it's necessary to limit their exposure to images, particularly for young children.

"It can be confusing for children to watch these images, so make sure they understand what they're seeing," Oatis said. "Help them understand what's occurred and gauge what the child's reaction is. Help them process their emotions."

School-age children will likely have lots of questions. Like everyone else, they want to know why terrorism happens and how they can be safe.

Oatis said honesty was the best policy.

"Be very honest, but at the same time, you want to be able to reassure them," he said.

"Explain what happened, but also reassure them at the same time."