9/11 Links

Here are some links I have come across today, while I have been remembering September 11, 2001, all our fellow Americans who were murdered that day, those who gave their lives for others, and everything else I WILL NEVER FORGET.

The President today at the Pentagon. Beautiful remarks.

Items from over the years that are worth reading again:

Barbara Olson was one of my absolute favorite political analysts. I remember coming home from school on 9/11/01 and learning from my parents that Barbara was on the plane that hit the Pentagon. I hadn't thought my heart could hurt anymore than it already did that day, but Barbara's death . . .

Here are some links about Barbara:
Lucianne Goldberg-13 September 2001: “What Do I Tell the Pilot?”
Fr. Macafee-17 September 2001: 'We Are People of Life' A sermon for Barbara Olson--and for America.
Ted Olson, Solicitor General of the United States at the time, on his wife, Barbara-November 2001: Ted on Barbara
My Remembrance of Barbara Olson from 9/11/05

As a way to remember all 2,996 people who were murdered on 9/11/01, in 2006 the 2,996 Project was launched. Bloggers volunteered to write memorials honoring victims of the attacks and post them on 9/11. I was blessed to write about Betty Ann Ong, who was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11. My memorial to Betty's memory is here.

Pope Benedict spoke at Ground Zero 20 April 2008 and said this beautiful prayer:

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

Debra Burlingame, whose brother Chic Burlingame was the pilot of Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, wrote this last 11 September 2007, reminding us that 9/11 WAS AN ACT OF WAR UPON THE UNITED STATES, not merely a tragic accident: We must always remember. Read it. Remember.

Some 9/11 Resources here.

Never Forget.

"We're standing strong, . . . We cherish our freedom"

Absolutely beautiful.

AP: Ship built with WTC steel christened---

AVONDALE, La. - The USS New York, an amphibious assault ship built with scrap steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, was christened Saturday as a source of strength and inspiration for the nation.

Thousands of people, including friends and families of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, gathered near the hulking gray ship, trimmed in red, white and blue banners.

The bow stem, which contains 7.5 tons of steel from the site, bore a shield with two gray bars to symbolize the twin towers and a banner over that declaring "Never Forget," a slogan among New Yorkers.

"May God bless this ship and all who sail on her," ship sponsor Dotty England said before smashing a bottle of champagne against it, producing a loud thump to go with the spurting liquid and flying streamers.

Amen to that.

The steel from the towers is now part of the ship that splices through the water, leading the way.

"It resurrects the ashes, so to speak, to do great things for our nation," said Bill Glenn, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, the ship builder.

[. . .]

That it could be used in war did not bother Lee Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families' Association, whose son, Jonathan, a firefighter, died in the attacks. The ship won't be used for war "unless you bother us," he said in an interview.

"We're sending a message that we're standing strong," he said, adding: "This ship, as it cuts through the water, is going to send a ripple. That ripple will say, 'We cherish our freedom.'"

Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., said Sept. 11 was a turning point in the nation, and will never be forgotten because remnants of the disaster are part of the ship.

"If the USS New York has to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, PCO Jones and his crew ... have my full support," he said to a standing ovation.

Ahmadinejad at Ground Zero?!?

Oh, this would be outrageous. It had better not happen.

New York Sun: U.S. May Escort Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero---

In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ground zero during his visit to New York next week, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. made the request to the New York City Police Department and the Secret Service, which will jointly oversee security during the leader's two-day visit. Mr. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to arrive September 24 to speak to the U.N. General Assembly as the Security Council decides whether to increase sanctions against his country for its uranium enrichment program.

Mr. Kelly said the NYPD and Secret Service were in discussions with the Iranian Mission about the logistics for the possible visit, and whether it will take place at all.

I don't think Ahmadinejad should even be allowed in our country, let alone at such Sacred Ground. If he is allowed to visit Ground Zero, it will be as though Bloomberg and the others are spitting on the graves of nearly 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11, not to mention the graves of all the military who have died protecting us from the likes of Ahmadinejad's regime.

I couldn't agree with AllahPundit at Hot Air more:

Not to go all nutrootsy here, but there are one or two influential people who allegedly read this site so let me issue a formal warning to them on behalf of myself and, I suspect, most of our readers: if Bush and Rice let him go down there, especially in the wake of Petraeus and Crocker reporting the threat Iran poses to American soldiers in Iraq, you have no idea how grave the political fallout will be. Consider this an alert from the grassroots early warning system. You ignored the warning we gave you this summer about the amnesty bill. For your sake, don’t ignore this one.

The latest news is that Ahmadinejad's request has been denied.

It shouldn't have even been a question. There ought to have been no hestitation in rejecting this request.

Hot Air also listed Bloomberg's contact info, which I will post, as well. Please make your feelings known:

Update: Here’s Bloomberg’s contact information:

PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

And here’s State’s:
202-647-4000TTY:1-800-877-8339

Update: Denied.

Six Years

I cannot believe that today is the six year anniversary of September 11. Times goes so quickly and yet for many the pain is still fresh. We must continue to pray for the families of the victims, for our military, and for our nation, and the world.

I will hopefully be posting more later, as I like to observe this day with remembrances from around the world, etc. I have to have oral surgery in about 1/2 an hour, so I don't know how I will be feeling.

I wanted to post something, however, so I decided to repost my contribution to last year's 2,996 Tribute. This is my tribute to Betty Ann Ong. Please read it and remember Betty and the other victims/heroes of 9/11. God bless us all.

___________________________________________________

This is dedicated in Memory of Betty Ong and in Honor of the Ong Family. May God bless you all.



2,996 is a tribute to the victims of 9/11.

On September 11, 2006, 2,996 volunteer bloggers
will join together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11.
Today, September 11, 2006, I remember Betty Ong, Flight Attendant, American Airlines, Flight 11.


On September 11, 2001, Betty Ong was just doing her job . . . a job she loved. She was a flight attendant for American Airlines, on Flight 11, which was going from Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California. Betty had been with American for 14 years and loved her job and

was a tireless worker. Whenever she worked a late night flight, she would never sit down and relax. Even when passengers were sleeping, she would walk down the aisles and softly talk to the passengers who were awake and provide blankets to those who were asleep. It would not be unusual to find Betty caring for a passenger's baby while their parent's rested. (Source)

She was a people person and it was safe to say people loved her too.

Betty didn't start out life as a flight attendant. She was born in San Francisco, California, on February 5, 1956 to a family with four children. Betty and her siblings grew up in Chinatown and she attended George Washington High School (Source).

She had a special place in her heart for children and senior citizens:

She paid special attention to them whenever they were aboard a flight she was working. On many occasions, Betty would drive a half hour from her home, into Boston, to have lunch and take walks with senior citizens. She shared stories about her far away travels with the neighboring children and often had trinkets to give them. (Source)

Betty's loving personality made her a perfect candidate to be a flight attendant:

She was feminine, very humorous, very caring, and she loved people," said Cathie Ong, [Betty's sister]. "She saw the humor and loved to bring out the humor. And she just loved to laugh. She had this habit, when she laughed, it was just very distinct. She would slap her knees when she would laugh, yet on the plane she was very professional."

Passengers and crew members loved Ms. Ong, 45. "She made everybody feel like they knew her right away," Cathie Ong said. "She had a knack for making people feel at ease. But if you were out of line with her, she wouldn't hesitate to put you in place. She was tough when she had to be." (Source)

On September 11, 2001, Betty showed just how tough she could be.

At about 8:20am on that day, Betty managed to get a call through to a woman named Nydia Gonzalez at the American Airlines Reservation center. It was one of, if not the first, calls with information about the hijackings. She stayed on the line for 23 minutes. (Michelle Malkin has a post up about Flight 11, here, which has a lot about Betty's role that day.)

Betty didn't panic. She calmly and professionally relayed information from the passengers and other members of the crew of Flight 11.

After Ong's description of the scene on board, Gonzalez and a second call-taker asked Ong what seat she was in.

Ong identified herself and her seat number, and said, "OK, our number one got stabbed, our purser is stabbed. Nobody knows who stabbed who, and we can't even get up to business class right now because nobody can breathe." (Source)

Betty's bravery and serenity under pressure helped alert the authorities to the terror that was about to unfold. Her call helped air controllers to decide to ground planes.

Ong calmly told ground staff there were possibly four hijackers of Middle Eastern extraction on board.

Ong also reported on the carnage taking place -- the First Class galley attendant, stabbed; the purser, stabbed. The terrorists also slashed the throat of a passenger, who was bleeding profusely. The hijackers locked themselves in the cockpit.

Amid the mid-air horror, Ong remained cool. She identified the seats the terrorists had occupied, enabling the FBI to learn the hijackers' passport details.

Fifteen minutes after Ong first alerted the world to what was happening, the big Boeing suddenly lurched, tilting wildly. She said the pilots were probably no longer flying the airplane. The 767 approached Manhattan, flying ever lower.

Still on the line, Ong said in a composed voice: "Pray for us. Pray for us."

Seconds later the line went dead.

Her ground contact asked: "What's going on, Betty? Betty, talk to me. Are you there? Betty?" (Source)

Betty Ann Ong was only 45 when her life was ended, much to young. She has so much left to do.

Only a portion of Betty's call was recorded. A small segment was played for the 9/11 Commission and Betty's family in January 2004.

"She was outstanding, under those circumstances," Cathie Ong said. "It's hard for us all to imagine ever being in those shoes. My family and I, we cried. She was just exemplary in her performance, her attitude and everything. "

"She was very take-charge, and we were very proud of her. She was very calm." (Source)

The audio from that four minute portion of Betty's call can be heard here (The transcript can be found there too).

Betty Ann Ong was a Hero on September 11, 2001. She made a choice not to passively accept her fate and did her best to save the Crew and Passengers of Flight 11.

Betty Ong will never be forgotten.

Of course, Betty was a lot more than a victim of 9/11:

She was the youngest of four siblings, a loving daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She was warm, caring, thoughtful, and considerate, always thinking of others before herself. Gifted with a sense of humor, Betty had a knack for making people feel comfortable and putting them at ease. She had a smile about her that could light up a room and lift up a spirit. She could feed laughter to anyone's heart. (Source)

Betty's brother Harry paid tribute to her with this poem:

Dear Bee:

I don't know fully why you left us
I don't know fully when you left us
I don't know fully how you left us
But I do know that I miss you so very much

I do know that you left us doing the job you loved best
I do know you left us fighting to the very end
And I do know you did your job most heroically

Oh how I wish I could turn the clock back to make things whole again
This is so much like a dream
I never expected to write you this letter..
Let alone a letter like this for you before me

Each day I wake up waiting for you to call or I.M. me just to say "Hello"
I go over and over the moments we shared together and wish we could share even more
And now as I slowly wake up each day, I realize that I can only talk to you in my heart and know that you are here in spirit

I whisper a little "hello" when I walk by your picture each day
Bee, I will never really say goodbye to you
because you are forever in my heart and soul
Bee, I just want to say I'm so very proud of you
And I really miss you so

Your loving brother, Harry
Source

In honor of Betty, her family has established the Betty Ong Foundation:

a not for profit public charity, [it] was established to continue her legacy. The advocacy of the Betty Ann Ong Foundation serves to educate children to the positive benefits of lifelong physical activity and healthy eating habits and to provide opportunities for children to experience the great outdoors so that they can grow to become healthy, strong and productive individuals.

Betty's memory will live through the Foundation's work for the advocacy of children and to give recognition to heroic flight attendants who continue to work hard to keep the passengers safe in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

You can pay further tribute to Betty Ong at one of the following sites:

September 11 Victims
Remember September 11
9-11 Heroes
Living Tribute

In Memory of Betty Ong and All Who Died on September 11, 2001.

May we NEVER Forget.

I know I will never.

Wednesday Hero

This Week's Soldier Was Suggested By Sunny Kay

Col. Cyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla
68 years old from New York City, New York
16th Air Assault Brigade, Parachute Regiment (England)
Platoon Leader of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) (U.S.)
September 11, 2001


Col. Rick Rescorla is a multiple time hero. In 1957 he enlisted in the British Army and began training as a paratrooper with The Parachute Regiment of the 16th Air Assault Brigade. He went on to serve with an intelligence unit in Cyprus, a paramilitary police inspector in the Northern Rhodesia Police (now the Zambia Police Service). When his military career ended in England he joined the Metropolitan Police Service in London. But he found the paperwork too boring and quite at the behest of a friend who encouraged him to join the United State Army. Which he did.

In 1963, Rescorla enlisted, with his friend, in the United States Army. After he completed basic training he attended officer training school and was assigned as a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

He was shipped to Vietnam and participated in the Battle of la Drang. While in Vietnam, he was given the nickname "Hard Core" by his men for his bravery in battle.

In 1968, Resorla became a U.S. citizen and continued his service in the Army Reserves until 1990 when he retired. In 1985 he joined a financial services firm, located in the World Trade Center, as security director.

In 1993, when the WTC was bombed, Rescorla was instrumental in evacuating people from the building. Afterwards, he enacted a policy in which all employees of the firm practiced evacuation drills every three months.

September 11, 2001. Rick Rescorla was supposed to be on vacation getting ready for his daughter's wedding. Instead he was at work covering a shift for one of his deputies so that he could go on vacation. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit Tower 1, Rescorla ignored officials advice to stay put and opted instead to put his evacuation drills to use. While evacuating the 3,800 employees of his firm in Towers 2 and 5 he kept reminding them "be proud to be an American ...everyone will be talking about you tomorrow" and sang God Bless America over his bullhorn. When Flight 175 struck Tower 2, Rescorla had already evacuated most of the employees from his firm as well as many others from other floors. He then went back in, despite being told he needed to evacuate himself. The last known words anyone heard him say were, "As soon as I make sure everyone else is out". Tower 2 collapsed with Rick Rescorla last seen heading to the 10th floor looking for more people to help.

As a result of his actions that day, all but six employees of his firm made it out alive. One of those being him and three others being his deputies who followed him into Tower 2, Wesley Mercer, Jorge Velazquez, and Godwin Forde.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by going here.