MORRIS COUNTY

‘9/11 baby’ to open NYSE

Michael Izzo
@MIzzoDR

ROCKAWAY Emily Berta celebrated her 14th birthday Friday in unique fashion, appearing on Fox News and ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange to encourage people to commit a day of service in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A “9/11 baby,” Emily was born in Morristown in the early morning hours of that tragic day, and her mother, Jennifer, remembers it vividly.

“I learned about it secondhand. By the time I was aware of it, the first tower had fallen,” Jennifer Berta said. “I thought I was watching a movie at first. It was surreal. Not how you want to welcome the birth of your child. Very mixed emotions.”

There were 13,238 children born in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Division of Vital Statistics, all forever associated with the day they cannot recall. In Morris County, Morristown Medical Center delivered 13 babies on Sept. 11, 2001, St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville welcomed nine, and Chilton Hospital had two deliveries.

Emily has been enlisted as an ambassador for the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, encouraging Americans to commit a day of charitable service to honor those lost in the 9/11 attacks.

“It’s important to be an ambassador because kids born on 9/11 mean that good always wins,” Emily said. “I want to make sure people remember all those who died and all the heroes of that day.”

Emily started asking questions about what 9/11 was in elementary school after the school held a remembrance ceremony.

“I told her that bad people came and did some things to the United States that cause people to die,” Jennifer Berta said. “But I try to focus on the positives, about the people who stepped up, and the lives who were saved.”

Jennifer Berta, a teacher at Rockaway Township’s Copeland Middle School, said children are taught in school at a later age about the events of the day and how the U.S. responded, but not in graphic detail.

“She’s seen children’s-based programs on it,” Jennifer Berta said about Emily. “Not a severe approach.”

Emily said she’s learned most of what she knows about 9/11 from her mother and father.

“My mom tells me what happened that day outside of the hospital and inside it too,” Emily said. “A lot of good things came from 9/11, and I am told about those things a lot. In history in school you learn more about what happened since 9/11 and how things changed.”

Now a freshman at Morris Knolls High School, Berta will appear on “Fox and Friends” at 6:30 a.m. today along with seven other children born on Sept. 11, 2001, representing the 9/11 Day organization.

On the program, Emily will discuss what it means and how it feels to be born on 9/11.

“I feel that being born on 9/11 has affected me a little. Friends are always surprised by my birthday,” Emily said. “It’s hard to celebrate your birthday on a day when so many awful things happened, but we do. I don’t have big parties. It’s just my family.”

Jennifer Berta said every year on Emily’s birthday they celebrate with just the two of them and her father, Richard.

“We do cake, presents, but we never have a party with family and friends on that day,” Jennifer Berta said. “We keep it low key until a few days after. And she’s OK with it. It’s what she knows.”

And though her birthday carries mixed emotions, Emily would not change it.

“My parents say anyone born on Sept. 11, 2001, are destined to do great things,” Emily said.

Following the TV appearance, the Emily Berta and the other children will head to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell, signifying the start of the trading day.

Jennifer Berta said going into New York City on Sept. 11 is a strange feeling, exciting but conflicting, but she is proud of her daughter for stepping up to be an ambassador for the Sept. 11 Day of Service.

“It’s an extremely big honor to be doing this for such an important day,” Jennifer Berta said. “I want people to remember there is good in the world, focusing on the positives. There were a lot of children like Emily born on that day, and these children are the future.”

David Paine co-founded 9/11 Day in 2002 with friend Jay Winuk, a 9/11 family member who lost his brother, attorney Glenn J. Winuk, a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician who died in the line of duty during the attacks.

“Nearly a quarter of all Americans today are under age 18, and most have no or very limited memories of the attacks and their immediate aftermath,” said Paine, also the co-founder and president of MyGoodDeed, the nonprofit which created and annually organizes 9/11 Day each year. “If we truly want to keep our promise to ‘never forget’ the victims and heroes of 9/11, we need to begin passing the torch to this new generation of Americans, inspiring young people to pay tribute through good deeds.”

The group also launched a “Born on 9/11” public service announcement that is airing on television and radio stations nationwide. The commercial features nearly two dozen kids born on that day and asks people to perform a good deed on Sept. 11 to honor those who died 14 years ago.

The 9/11 Day organization reached out the Emily after she posted what being born on 9/11 meant to her on the group’s Facebook page.

“My mother says I was born into one world that quickly became another world. When I learned about 9/11 I was scared about how it happened. I was also scared that it could happen again. I was told though about all the good things that happened from this tragic day,” read the post. “People started to help each other more. Families started to come together more and appreciate each other. Police and firefighters sacrificed their lives for people they didn’t know. Men and women and kids volunteered time and money to families they never met and to organizations helping anyone affected by the attacks.”

Emily said many things were born aside from her on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Kindness, compassion, support, faith and more love. My wish is that every family who lost someone or was hurt by the tragedy knows that people across the nation are supporting them,” Emily said. I want people to give something back to the world and I want those families to know we do it to honor everyone who died. My birthday is important and it should be a day for good things from the whole world.”

Go to http://911day.org for more information on the organization, a list of charitable events or teaching tools to talk to children about Sept. 11, 2001.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com