President Barack Obama’s announcement Sunday night that Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind who orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America, had been killed by military forces in Pakistan, was a significant moment in the post-9-11 era that has defined a generation.

For the civics students in David Roeder’s classroom at Brandywine High School, the perspective of their generation is one of living in the aftermath of those attacks, with few memories of what life was like before intense airport screenings and national threat levels.

“It is the biggest news story of the last 10 years,” Roeder said.

Roeder discussed the story with his students Monday afternoon. Just 10 years prior, the kids who filled those desks would have seen the infamous attacks unfold on live television, triggering a decade long manhunt for Bin Laden which would end at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, not far from the country’s capital.

But students like Joshua Boger, Gabrielle Cauwenberghs, Zachary Baughman and Danielle Pompey were young children then, around age 6 or 7. Their memories are both pointed and sometimes vague. They remember the images and the worry in their parents’ voices.

Boger, just 7 years old at the time, was home sick from school, he said. He remembered he was watching TV on the couch when “I saw smoke coming off a building and I didn’t know what it was at first. And then I saw the second plane hit and that was really weird for me. I still didn’t know what was going on.”

Cauwenberghs was living in Maryland at the time; her stepfather and half-brother lived in New York.

“I was in the middle of science class … I remember the principal came in the door and talked to the teacher and made us all stop what we were doing and had to go into the gym for an assembly … they turned the news on and we all were just watching it like, OK, why are we watching this?” she said. “And I just remember my mom coming in and saying, ‘OK we need to go now’ because my stepdad lived in New York. We were kind of worried about where my little brother was and I just remember my mom kind of freaking out and saying, ‘we need to get ahold of your dad now,’ and it was just kind of crazy.”

Nicholas Wright remembers his school going into lock-down as the attacks continued that morning.

For this group of students, bin Laden’s impact would continue in the form of life in wartime. Today’s juniors and seniors who contemplate signing up for military service, know they could very well be deployed overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan, where the U.S. continues its offenses in the war on terror.

“My cousin Kevin got deployed to Iraq less than a month ago,” said Chris Simpson.

“My friend, who is more like a brother to me, he went to Iraq, like, two weeks ago,” Pompey said.

“I just know that someday I’m probably going to be one of those guys that’s going to be going overseas too,” Simpson said, adding that he is considering joining the military. “For about two or three years now I’ve been wanting to sign up for the Air Force.”

As the news spread overnight and early morning via 24 hour cable news networks, Facebook and Twitter posts, some students said they weren’t surprised to hear bin Laden had been found and killed.

“I kind of thought it was inevitable,” Baughman said. “That it would happen anyway.”

But others questioned the repercussions that could lay ahead.

“I’m surprised that instead of capturing him they killed him because that’s just going to create more controversy, more hostility, like in Afghanistan,” said Brittany Coder.

As details are released from federal and military officials, a sense of relief has been seen around the world, coupled with the concern of what kinds of retaliation, if any, could be seen by Bin Laden loyalists.

Though most of the students in Roeder’s class say they don’t feel scared, the after-affects of Bin Laden’s death is not lost on them either.

“If it took us 10 years to train, to plan to do this to either capture him or kill him, what does it mean for them?” Cauwenberghs said. “How long is it going to take them to train and to plan something on us?”

“The way I see it is, whenever we lose a president we have another one step up and take its place. We just took their (leader),” Pompey said. “So now they have to have someone step up … It’s going to keep going back and forth. It’s never really going to end, no matter what you do it’s never going to end.”

As he addressed the country Sunday night, President Obama asked citizens to remember the feelings shared in all corners of the country following the 9-11 attacks.

“The cause of securing our country is not complete,” he said. “But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to.  That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place. ”

A safer but altogether different place than little more than 10 years ago.

“We are a country that will always have to worry about terrorism,” Roeder said.

Citizens’ Reactions

News that the United States had carried out a mission to kill terrorist leader Osama bin Laden spread through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook Sunday night. Here are some of the reactions. Voice your opinions on the Star’s Facebook page.

“Obama is getting the credit but it was are soldiers u were behind the guns risking there lives,” Jimmie Crocker

“Ding dong the witch is dead…” Patresa Shelton

“GOD BLESS AMERICA, Justice has been served way to go NAVY SEALS and Our TROOPS!!!!!!!,” Hollie Gentry

“I’m happy, but waiting for retaliation,” Jessie Mezeske

“About damn time. Now if our president would just give our military the support they need to finish up over there, we’d be good to go,” Jeff Johnson

“Osama is still not dead, there’s no proof,” Larry Simpson

U.S. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan also reacted to the president’s news, issuing the following statement:

“The people of the world can feel relief and satisfaction that a monster has been brought to justice,” Levin said. “Justice has a long memory and a long arm.

“I stand in awe and appreciation of the men and women of our military and our intelligence community, who have once again demonstrated their amazing courage and competence. Their heroism is a stark contrast to bin Laden, who while sending his underlings to die or huddle in mountain caves has been living in the comfort of a villa in Pakistan. Surely this will help puncture the myth of Osama bin Laden.

“This is a great victory in the fight against terrorism. But it is not the final victory.

“These events also bring back to us the pain of the terrible loss we suffered on Sept. 11, 2001, and of the sacrifices of the brave men and women who have been lost or wounded in the years since. It is their heroism, and not bin Laden’s hatred, that endures.”