This Wednesday, September 11, 2019, marks the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC. It is not an anniversary to celebrate, but it is a day to be commemorated. It is a day to remember what happened not only on that day, but also to remember what has happened in the eighteen years since, and reflect on how it all applies to the world we are living in today.
As I thought about what to write this year, realizing that 18 years have passed already, my thoughts went to my niece who turns 18 in January. She just started her senior year in high school and will be graduating in May of 2020. Taking the thought further, I realized that this class of 2020 is the first class of high school graduates where most of them were born after September 11, 2001. This is the first set of graduates who are being sent out into an adult world that was completely changed by the events of a single day.
So to all my younger nieces and nephews, and all others reading this that were born after September 11, 2001, this post is for you. There is no way to pass on the same feelings of grief, horror, fear and anger that those of us who were witnesses, either direct or indirect, had on that day and in the days that followed. I would never wish anything like that upon you, but for the world to hold on to the lessons that were learned, it is important that you get more of a personal perspective that cannot be passed on with history lessons in school, or documentaries on television.
Like many Americans, I watched the events unfold on live television. It was just after 5:45 AM here in Los Angeles and I was getting ready to leave for work. The local morning news that I was watching was interrupted by a live feed of the "Today" show with Matt Lauer telling the audience that a plane had crashed into the North tower of the World Trade Center. There were no details available yet as to the type of plane, and my first thoughts were that it was a private plane. It was only a year and half before that a man who had a beef with the IRS crashed his private plane into a government building in Austin.
I continued to watch the news with the cameras carrying live images of smoke pouring out of the north tower. With the cameras still on the towers, the world watched in horror as at 9:03 AM eastern time, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower. Flames shot out of the tower and debris from the building and plane began falling to the ground. I became sick to my stomach and the reporters on television did not know how to react. Those of us watching were also told that the first plane that crashed into the north tower was American Airlines Flight 11, another Boeing 767. I sat there in disbelief knowing that there had to be several hundred people on those planes and even more in the towers that had been killed. Reporters began to describe the events as deliberate acts tantamount to terrorism.
Unable to watch the television any longer, I got in the car to drive into work. I had the radio on and listened as there were reports of two more planes that had crashed, one into the Pentagon and another in rural Pennsylvania. The government then orders the shutdown of U.S. airspace and all planes in flight are ordered to land as soon as possible. Many on those flights are still not aware of what is going on.
For a Tuesday morning, the freeway traffic was light, no doubt many stayed home to watch the news. I was the first to arrive at the office and went into my boss' office to watch his TV. It was about 7:00 AM and I, along with the rest of the world, watched in horror as the south tower collapses entirely, just as any building does that is brought down by a controlled explosion. Reporters begin to talk about tens of thousands of people that could possibly be in the tower. A half hour later, the north tower collapses in the same fashion.
A minute or two later and the phone rings at the office. It is my boss who, just as I am, is in disbelief about what is happening. He then instructs me to contact other employees to let them know they do not have to go into work. The offices will be closed for the day. Local reporters advise listeners that schools and universities will be closed.
Almost every media outlet, whether television, radio or internet, is carrying coverage of the events in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. We learn that the two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers had taken off from Boston and were both bound for Los Angeles. The plane that crashed into the Pentagon was American Airlines flight 77, a Boeing 757, had taken off from Washington Dulles International Airport, also bound for Los Angeles. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, also a Boeing 757, had taken off from Newark and was headed for San Francisco. We would soon learn that passengers and crew members on that flight either had their cell phones or were using the Airphone to alert airline operations, the police and family on the ground that the pilots had been killed and hijackers were in command. With those calls, they would learn that other planes had been hijacked and what had happened to them. United 93 was hijacked over Ohio and was turned back, heading southeast. Rather than let the plane be used to bring down another building, a group of passengers bravely stormed the cockpit and the plane came down outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. There were no survivors.
As the day goes on, more and more is being learned. With U.S. airspace shut down, international flights that were in transit are forced to turn back, or land at remote airports in Canada, Mexico or any other location that can take them. The only planes in U.S. skies that day are military jets patrolling airports, escorting commercial flights in transit as they are directed to land at their destination, or other available airports. All U.S. airports are shut down and would remain closed for several days. In the days afterward, stranded passengers pack trains and buses, or rent cars to find their way home.
We would also learn that the mastermind behind the attacks is Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Bin Laden was at the top of the U.S. government's most-wanted list for his attack on the USS Cole in 2000, and for his first attempt to bring down the World Trade Center on my birthday in 1993. We also learn that Bin Laden is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan, protected by that country's government run by the Taliban, an ultra-conservative, radical, and oppressive Islamic sect.
In the days after September 11, the country comes together in a renewed sense of patriotism not seen since World War II. Churches, Temples, Mosques and other houses of worship are packed by those seeking comfort, and seeking answers. U.S. flags are flying everywhere. Airports remain closed with everyone wondering when they will re-open, and what changes to security are needed before they can open. We also learn in that week how Bin Laden's men were able to get through lax security at airports in smaller cities, with box cutters in their carry-ons.
Like most of the world, I had a hard time processing what had happened. As a frequent flyer, I had many friends at United Airlines and worried about how they were handling all of this. They just lost friends, they did not know when they were going back to work, they also did not know if their job would still be there. Flight attendants are filled with dread as it hits home that their co-workers on those planes were the "first responders," and that their job, already difficult, now comes with risks they never imagined. I had worked as a flight attendant for another airline in the eighties, and wondered if in the same position, I would be able to go back facing the same risks.
For my younger readers, those born close to or after September 11, 2001, this world is far different than what it was on September 10, 2001 and before. Us older folks who were witnesses to the events carry some feelings that are hard to describe. We were witness to events that can only be described as evil. Before 9/11 we felt more secure and more positive. The economy felt more stable, we did not feel afraid to travel. Heck, we were able to breeze through security at the airport, and we could even go to the gate without a boarding pass to pick up family or friends who were flying in. That one day changed all that. The next time you travel and find yourself standing in a long security line at the airport, be grateful, don't be aggravated. That additional security comes from some very hard lessons learned.
More for the younger readers - when traveling, appreciate the airline employees you encounter. 9/11 hit the travel industry hard, and their jobs are significantly more difficult. Some airlines are no longer in business. Front line employees at the airlines have to constantly be vigilant, and carry the worry that they not be the one who misses the next terrorist that is able to hijack a plane. They are trying to get by with lower pay and benefits than they may have been getting before 9/11. They also have to deal with increasing numbers of travelers with a sense of entitlement and faded memories of 9/11. Before 9/11, it would have been unbelievable that pilots could be faced with the thought of carrying firearms.
For the Flight Attendants, they have the most face time with customers, yet they are constantly under pressure from airline management to do more with less. They are always expected to be friendly, courteous, and professional. On top of that, they have to be trained and prepared to act as first responders, as Homeland Security cannot put Air Marshals on every flight. And on every September 11 they are reminded that it was Flight Attendants who were among the first to lose their lives on that day in 2001.
For the Flight Attendants, they have the most face time with customers, yet they are constantly under pressure from airline management to do more with less. They are always expected to be friendly, courteous, and professional. On top of that, they have to be trained and prepared to act as first responders, as Homeland Security cannot put Air Marshals on every flight. And on every September 11 they are reminded that it was Flight Attendants who were among the first to lose their lives on that day in 2001.
As I do not have any kids of my own, I'm not sure what is being taught now in schools about the events of September 11, 2001. It is not enough to recap those events in textbook history lessons, or watch documentaries on the History or Smithsonian channels. There is 18 years of history, with wars, recessions, and ever-increasing political divisiveness, all of which we can trace the cause back to what happened on September 11, 2001. That day taught us something else, that with television and the internet, we are no longer on the sidelines. The most important lesson from that day is that freedom came under attack. This is why it is so important that we "Never Forget."
A closing personal note to my all my nieces and nephews - you will hear about your eccentric Uncle Jim who buys a ticket on United Airlines to fly from Los Angeles to New York and back on the same day every year. With him he carries as many Starbucks gift cards as he can afford to hand out to United employees as a way of showing his appreciation that they are there on a difficult day. It is also his way of letting them know that it is because of them that I can make that trip. 18 years ago, the choice to make such a trip was taken away from me and millions of others. The responsibility to make sure that does not happen again will be passed on to you - this is why I take this trip every year.
A final closing personal note to Oscar Munoz and Scott Kirby. You took great pride when the new livery was unveiled this year. It looks great, but I need to keep up my challenge to you to put the United Tulip back on just 20 planes, 18 to represent the United employees killed on 9/11 , and 2 to represent the United planes that were used to carry out the attacks. Those employees and those planes all wore the United Tulip that day. Take 20 of your new 777's and 787's, paint the tulip on them by the front door along with the name of one of those employees that gave their life on that day. I know you go around talking to employees about how today's United Airlines is not the United Airlines that was. It was not random that United and American planes were used in the attacks. They were chosen because of each airline's dominance around the world. For your employees, there is no such thing as a United Airlines that belongs in the past. Honor all your employees by honoring, not in words, but in deeds, those 20 Tulips that were lost on that dreadful day. You are repainting the planes anyway, how much more could it cost to put a little extra color on just 20 of them?
A closing personal note to my all my nieces and nephews - you will hear about your eccentric Uncle Jim who buys a ticket on United Airlines to fly from Los Angeles to New York and back on the same day every year. With him he carries as many Starbucks gift cards as he can afford to hand out to United employees as a way of showing his appreciation that they are there on a difficult day. It is also his way of letting them know that it is because of them that I can make that trip. 18 years ago, the choice to make such a trip was taken away from me and millions of others. The responsibility to make sure that does not happen again will be passed on to you - this is why I take this trip every year.
A final closing personal note to Oscar Munoz and Scott Kirby. You took great pride when the new livery was unveiled this year. It looks great, but I need to keep up my challenge to you to put the United Tulip back on just 20 planes, 18 to represent the United employees killed on 9/11 , and 2 to represent the United planes that were used to carry out the attacks. Those employees and those planes all wore the United Tulip that day. Take 20 of your new 777's and 787's, paint the tulip on them by the front door along with the name of one of those employees that gave their life on that day. I know you go around talking to employees about how today's United Airlines is not the United Airlines that was. It was not random that United and American planes were used in the attacks. They were chosen because of each airline's dominance around the world. For your employees, there is no such thing as a United Airlines that belongs in the past. Honor all your employees by honoring, not in words, but in deeds, those 20 Tulips that were lost on that dreadful day. You are repainting the planes anyway, how much more could it cost to put a little extra color on just 20 of them?
