Many 9/11 family members feel Americans have forgotten how it felt on September 11th, 2001.  Have we forgotten seeing the Towers fall, the Pentagon burning, and United Flight 93 crashing into the ground?  Some family members were interviewed to get their feelings, and to remind us that there are faces behind the victims of that surprise attack that started the War on Terror.  

All those interviewed were in complete agreement on what they want Americans to understand.  Their loved ones were murdered out of a hatred for our way of life, and they don’t want them to have died in vain.  Alice Hoagland summed up everyone’s feelings when she soberly stated that “I am afraid Americans have lost focus.  I just hope it does not take another brutal bloodletting to get us back on the mark to realize we have to be vigilant against terrorism.”

Each family member, representing a cross section of America, had a heartfelt story behind this horrific tragedy. 

Debra Burlingame, the co-founder of Keep America Safe with Liz Cheney, did not initially think that her brother, the pilot of the plane flown into the Pentagon, was involved in this horrific event.  She was in shock, stunned, and deeply shaken as events unfolded on that day.  More than a decade later she wants to thank Americans for showing “we have a country of extraordinary people of character.  My family is very appreciative to the American people for helping us during those very dark times by supporting us, standing up with us, and crying with us.”  Debra also issues a word of caution, “that the terrorists see this fight as generational: remember what Zacarias Moussaoui, the ‘20th hijacker’ said, ‘our children will finish the fight.’’’ She constantly thinks about her brother, Chic, the leader of her family who was smart, solutions oriented, and had a great sense of self-deprecating humor.  Besides Chic she wants Americans to know that there were eleven children on those planes who also died a tragic, horrific death.

Beverly and Tom Burnett’s son, Tom Jr., died on United Flight 93. Among those he left behind were young children, ages five and three.  Tom’s wife alerted him about the other planes and when he saw the plane was diverted from its original destination of Los Angeles and headed towards Washington DC he with a group of others decided to take action.  Beverly Burnett commented that after hearing the black box she knew the group was able to enter the cockpit, and if they had a few more minutes would have been able to overpower the terrorists.    The Burnett’s stated, “We were extremely close to our son and miss him every day.  Where we live we are in the plane flight pattern.  Every time we hear a plane fly over we think of Tom.”  Beverly had moments where she wanted to stay in bed and just pull the covers up.  What gives them solace is that their son fought back.  They want Americans to know “Tom took action and got involved. To honor Tom we want people to get involved.  We established a citizenship program in his name where 8th graders have service days to help the community.”

Gordon and Kathy Haberman cannot believe that it has been more than a decade since losing their daughter Andrea in the World Trade Center. For them “every day is 9/11 in some shape or form.  It is not something you can put on the shelf and drag it out for an anniversary. It will never be a footnote to 9/11 families.”  They saw the attack as a means to cripple America:  Pentagon-military, World Trade Center-financial, and the plane heading for Congress-political.” Their book, Just A Few Sleeps Away, was written to help Americans understand the impact of 9/11.   What they want Americans to know is that their daughter Andrea was full of love, intelligence, and will always live in their hearts. 

Shirley and Bob Hemenway’s son, Ronald, was awarded the Purple Heart.  In March, 2000 he was assigned to the Pentagon as Chief of Naval Operations.  The Hemenway’s were told that the area where their son died reached 3000 degrees after the plane had hit.  His body was never found and he also left behind two young children. They noted that “We get through this emotional period by talking about our son.  We want everyone to know about him, how he died, and why he died.  For our son and everyone else that died on September 11th Americans should fly the flag on that day to honor those who died. In Ronald’s honor we go to funerals for homeless veterans.  We had a funeral without a body and we want to make sure that these homeless veterans do not have a funeral without anyone paying their respects.”

Alice Hoagland’s son, Mark Bingham, also died on United Flight 93.  He used his rugby skills to help overtake two of the four hijackers.  He had decided to fly home early to get ready to attend his good friends’ wedding.  After determining that this plane was going to be used as a weapon, a group on the plane, including Mark, stormed the cockpit but were unsuccessful in their attempt to re-take the plane.  It crashed into in a field in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Alice thinks about her son “each and every day of my life and I will never really be the same.  I am sorry for the years that have been ripped from me.  I am sorry for the grief still felt by all the family members who lost loved ones.  Mark died fighting.  He died on his feet.  9/11 is a remembrance of a deep loss for me. I also want people to know that my son was a gay man.  I want other gay people to be proud of who they are despite their sexual orientation that might not be well received.  He was one of a small group of men that tried to stop the terrorists.  Because he had such fond memories about his days at the University of California, Berkeley, a scholarship fund was established to help one student pay for tuition.”

Joe Holland’s 32 year old son, Joe Holland III, was not supposed to be in the World Trade Center.  He was called to attend a meeting on the 102nd floor of the North Tower. Because of a traffic jam the meeting started late and he was there when the planes hit.  He was alive until the tower collapsed but was trapped because the conference room doors jammed.  Among those he left behind was his ten day old son who never would know his father. What is important to Holland is that people must understand, “My son was murdered.  I want Americans to understand that.  The pain never goes away.  As this day approaches it gets worse and worse.  My son was murdered because he was not Islamic and considered to be a non-believer. Americans lived it on 9/11 and maybe a few years after but I have to live without my son day in and day out. I had to do something to focus so I built a memorial for the 2,983 victims of September 11th. I want to make sure we never forget.” 

Judy Reiss feels that every American lost some of their innocence on 9/11, seeing that America’s oceans were no longer a protective coating.  She believes that the Muslim extremists are a completely different culture and “do not look on life as we do.  I don’t think a lot of people get it, or maybe they don’t want to because people want to get over the bad feelings.” Many of the memories of that day are vague except that instant when the towers fell and her husband turned to her and said calmly “we just lost a child.”  According to her, Americans need to remember, “The victims are not a lump number, but are individuals, all loved by someone.”  She thinks about her son everyday, and says it is “different when you lose a child.  You are not supposed to outlive your child.”  Her son Joshua was friendly, vivacious, outgoing, charming, and someone who loved his life:  his job, his city, his country, and his family.

Susan Rescorla’s husband, Rick, died a true hero.  He was an army Colonel who fought in three wars and after retiring became the Security Chief at the World Trade Center for Morgan Stanley.  After surviving the 1993 World Trade Center attack he implemented a mandatory drill where every employee including Senior Executives regularly practiced emergency evacuations.  On September 11th after the plane hit, Rescorla, following his evacuation plans, and ignoring building officials' advice to stay put, evacuated Morgan Stanley's 2,700 employees from Tower 2.  He died during the towers collapse as he had returned to the building to rescue others.  His remains were never found.   Susan Rescorla chokingly commented that “I wrote a book about Rick and my journey together.  My husband and I were soul mates.  It is so raw with me, even today.  I get so emotional I have to swallow my tears.  I am so proud of him, and am still trying to understand all of this. What happened should be felt by every American.”

Maureen and Al Santora’s son, Christopher, had found his dream job, being a New York City firefighter.  He graduated in June, 2001 and was assigned to Engine Company 54.  Unfortunately, all fifteen men in this firehouse died trying to rescue others from the World Trade Center.  Although his body was found three days after September 11th, it was incorrectly identified as someone else.  It was not until November, 2001 that Maureen and her husband Al were notified of the mistake. She sadly noted, “I was one of the lucky ones in that I have my son’s body.  There are still 997 people who never had ID.  I needed the time to adjust to the fact my son was murdered.  We keep thinking each year will be better but even so many years later it is so very difficult.  We still have not healed.  I come to tears when thinking about my son, which is constant.”

Jacquie Van Laere has experienced the pain she felt on 9/11 every day she met with her mother who had dementia.  At every visit her mom would ask why her son, Dan, was not visiting anymore.  She was told over and over again that he died rescuing co-workers at the World Trade Center and during every visit Jacquie would “watch my mom sob in despair, as though she was hearing of his death for the first time.”  She sees Americans today as complacent with short memories that have tried to turn 9/11 into a political event.” Her brother Dan’s body was never found but believes “that as his soul left the earth a part of him has remained with my family, his humor and sensitivity.”

Americans need never to forget!