"LET'S ROLL!"^®
  REMEMBER FLIGHT 93 

    9/11/01.  The horrific acts of terrorism against the United States of America that day will never be forgotten.  It was a day that saw much tragedy and sorrow, and many heroic acts.  For sure, the firefighters, police and port authority officers who perished trying to save others were indeed heroes.  But for those in uniform who routinely serve to preserve, protect and defend, they will tell you they were just doing their "job."

    I wish to preserve the memory of those "average Americans" who made a big difference 9/11/01.  And I am most proud that many were fellow Californians.

    Three of the hijacked planes were the weapons of choice to create a massive, cruel and senseless loss of life at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.  There is no doubt that the fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was also destined to be messenger of doom on another unsuspecting target.  And that target?  Abu Zubaydah, the senior al-Qaeda terrorist leader now in U.S. custody and under interrogation, suggests that the target was the White House, reported The Associated Press May 23, 2002.

    What we do know is that at least four brave passengers and a flight attendant on Flight 93 actively mobilized once they learned of the World Trade Center catastrophe.  They knew that the purpose of the hijacking of their flight was to further the death and destruction already occurring on American soil.  By cell phone, they spoke with their loved ones and made a conscientious decision that showed the world the true spirit of Americans.  Banding together, they bravely disabled the hijackers and thwarted their evil plans.  That is a documented fact.  Unfortunately, these brave souls were all lost when their plane went down in Pennsylvania, never to reach its destination in California.

    They could have just sat there.  And we would have had one more disaster on our hands.  But they didn't.  Instead, they took action.  And took the plane down where it could harm no other Americans.

    For four years I had included a sample letter on this site addressed to the President of the United States urging him to bestow, posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom on the heroes of Flight 93.  It was my feeling that we should not let this bravery go without recognition or, ultimately, let it slip from our memories.  Granted, a medal would only have been a "token," for it could not truly convey our most heartfelt gratitude for their sacrifice.  But, be is as it may, it is still that ... a symbol of our gratitude and unwavering respect and remembrance to those lost for having made the supreme sacrifice to save other Americans.

    However, after four years it is apparent that the letters had no effect, and therefore, I have removed the sample letter and other links. However, I thank those of you who did write and ask that you always remember those on Flight 93.

"Heroes are not those who think of themselves at the time, but merely act, in good, upon the necessity of the moment, for others."

J.D. Starr
"Just An Average American"

The crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93:

Crew: 

CAPTAIN JASON DAHL, 43, Denver, Colorado 
FIRST OFFICER LEROY HOMER, 36, Marlton, New Jersey 
FLIGHT ATTENDANT LORRAINE G. BAY, Hightstown, New Jersey 
FLIGHT ATTENDANT SANDRA W. BRADSHAW, 38, Greensboro, N. Carolina 
FLIGHT ATTENDANT WANDA A. GREEN, 49, Linden, New Jersey 
FLIGHT ATTENDANT CEE CEE ROSS-LYLES, 34, Ft. Myers, Florida 
FLIGHT ATTENDANT DEBORAH A. WELSH, 49, New York, New York 

Passengers: 

CHRISTIAN ADAMS, 37, Biebelsheim, Germany 
TODD BEAMER, 32, Cranbury, New Jersey 
ALAN BEAVEN, 48, Oakland, California 
MARK BINGHAM, 31, San Francisco, California 
DEORA BODLEY, 20, Santa Clara, California
MARION BRITTON, 53, New York, New York 
THOMAS BURNETT, 38, San Ramon, California 
WILLIAM CASHMAN, 57, North Bergen, NJ 
GEORGINE CORRIGAN, 56, Honolulu, Hawaii 
JOSEPH DELUCA, Newark, NJ  
PATRICK DRISCOLL, 70, Manalapan, NJ 
EDWARD FELT, 41, Matawan, New Jersey 
COLLEEN FRASER, 51, Elizabeth, New Jersey 
ANDREW GARCIA, 62, Portola Valley, California 
JEREMY GLICK, 31,West Milford, New Jersey
LAUREN GRANDCOLA, 36, San Rafael, California 
DONALD GREENE, 52, Greenwich, Connecticut 
LINDA GRONLUND, 46, Warwick, New York 
RICHARD GUADAGNO, 38, Eureka, California 
TOSHIYA KUGE, 20, Tokyo, Japan
WALESKA MARTINEZ, 37, New York, New York 
NICOLE MILLER, 21, San Jose, California
LOUIS J. NACKE, 42, New Hope, Pennsylvania
MARK ROTHENBERG, Scotch Plains, New Jersey 
CHRISTINE SNYDER, 32, Kailua, Hawaii
JOHN TALIGNANI, 72, Staten Island, New York 
HONOR WAINIO, 27, Watchung, New Jersey
KRISTIN GOULD WHITE, 65, New York, New York

Never forget...these were people just like you and me.  Please don't forget them.  Read about their lives at: http://www.unitedheroes.com/whotheywere.html

    The Bruderhof Peace Barn is a project of the 5th-8th grade students of the Spring Valley School in Farmington, Pa. These students have converted an old barn into a memorial for the heroes of Flight 93. In addition they have handcrafted the memorial benches for each passenger and crew member at the nearby Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville.  The new Peace Barn website has a beautiful online Flight 93 Memorial with pictures and biographies of all the passengers and crew.  Go to: http://www.peacebarn.org/

Some information about what some what took place on Flight 93:

    QUOTED FROM NEWS SOURCES: The phone line from Flight 93 was still open when a GTE operator heard Todd Beamer say: "Are you guys ready? Let's roll!"  That's how Todd Beamer lived. And that's how he died, helping to lead a takeover by passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was the fourth plane to go down in the terrorist attacks. Beamer, 32, told the GTE supervisor, Lisa D. Jefferson, that he and others on the plane had decided they would not be pawns in the hijackers' suicidal plot.  

    Sandra Bradshaw, a flight attendant, she called her husband in Greensboro, N.C. She had been moved to the back of the plane, she said, but she and other passengers had a plan. They were going to rush their captors; she was boiling water to throw on them. 

    Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.  He made four calls to his wife, Deena, from the plane. Deena Burnett said that her husband told her that one passenger had been stabbed and that "a group of us are going to do something." He also told her that the people on board knew about the attack on the World Trade Center, apparently through other phone calls. 

    Jeremy Glick, called his wife, Liz, and in-laws in New York on a cell phone to tell them the plane had been hijacked. Glick said that one of the hijackers "had a red box he said was a bomb, and one had a knife of some nature," Joanne Makely, Glick's mother-in-law, said. Glick asked Makely if the reports about the attacks on the World Trade Center were true, and she told him they were. He left the phone for a while, returning to say, "The men voted to attack the terrorists," Makely said. 

    Passenger Mark Bingham, 31, called his mother to say the plane had been taken over by three men who said they had a bomb, the AP reported.  Bingham's mother, Alice Hoglan said she thinks her son may have helped prevent the hijackers from hitting a more populated area. "It gives me a great deal of comfort to know that my son may have been  able to avert the killing of many, many innocent people," she said.