It has been said that a person dies twice. The first death is a physical one, preceded by a second death that occurs the last time a person's name is spoken. I vow that as long as I live, the names of the airline employees lost on September 11th, 2001 will continue to be spoken...they will not be forgotten.
Three years ago after my daughter finished the 4th grade, I decided to take her to Washington, D.C. for a father -daughter weekend. She studied American history in school that year and I thought it would be both fun and educational to visit our country's capital. One of the sites we visited on that trip was the Vietnam War Memorial....a site that holds special meaning to me.
My daughter scratching the name "Henry O Wilhoite"...a friend of my father's who didn't come home.
My father flew OV-1 Mohawks in Vietnam. Our family was lucky enough to welcome him home in 1970 after a 12 month tour. While in Washington, my daughter and I visited the memorial...this wasn't my first visit, but I was just as amazed by the number of names on the wall this time as I was with my first visit. It would have taken days to read each and every one of the over 58,000 names aloud, but my daughter and I decided we would walk the wall and read one name off each panel...144 names. It was my intention to do two things. First, impress upon my daughter the distressingly long list of American lives lost in that war and second, to honor, remember and speak out loud, at least one name from each of the panels. They will not be forgotten.
Today, I will do the same thing for the flight crew members lost on 9/11. The "Never Forget" picture above is a poster on the wall in the American Airlines pilot lounge at the DFW International Airport. The picture as I've posted it here is too small to see clearly, but the background is made up of the name of every single life lost during the attacks on September 11th. I read a different name aloud from the poster every time I pass through DFW. They will not be forgotten.
Below is a list of the flight crew who perished aboard American Airlines flight 11, United Airlines flight 175. American Airlines flight 77 and United Airlines flight 93. These are among the first of many to lose their lives on September 11th. I invite you to read the list aloud. I don't do this often enough, but I do at least once a year on the anniversary of their deaths. They will not be forgotten.
AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 11: BOSTON - LOS ANGELES
8:46:30 - Flight 11 crashes at roughly 466 mph (425 knots) into the north face of the North Tower (1 WTC) of the
World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99.
Pilots: Captain John Ogonowski * First Officer Thomas McGuinness
Flight Attendants: Barbara Arestegui * Jeffrey Collman * Sara Low * Karen Martin * Kathleen Nicosia * Betty Ong * Jean Roger * Dianne Snyder * Madeline Sweeney
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 175: BOSTON - LOS ANGELES
9:03:02 - Flight 175 crashes at about 590 mph (513 knots) into the south face of the South Tower (2 WTC) of the World Trade Center, between floors 77 and 85.
Pilots: Captain Victor J Saracini * First Officer Michael Horrocks
Flight Attendants: Robert J. Fangman * Amy N. Jarret * Amy R. King * Kathryn L. Laborie * Alfred G. Marchand * Michael C. Tarrou * Alicia N. Titus
AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 77: DULLES - LOS ANGELES
9:37:46: Flight 77 crashes into the western side of the Pentagon at 530 mph (460 knots).
Pilots: Captain Charles F. Burlingame * First Officer David Charlebois
Flight Attendants: Michele Heidenberger * Jennifer Lewis * Kenneth Lewis * Renee May
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 93: NEWARK - SAN FRANCISCO
10:03:11: United Airlines Flight 93 is crashed by its hijackers and passengers
Pilots: Captain Jason Dahl * First Officer Leroy Homer
Flight Attendants Lorraine Bay * Sandra Bradshaw * Wanda Green
CeeCee Lyles * Deborah Welsh Speak their names out loud...they will not be forgotten.
For a complete list of passengers and crew, click here.
