Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, widow of pilot Tom McGuinness, gives President George W. Bush a copy of her new book, “Beauty Beyond the Ashes,” yesterday. (BOP LaPREE/UNION LEADER)
Posted on 03/26/2004 12:26:32 AM PST by kattracks
NASHUA — President Bush staunchly defended his administration’s anti-terrorism planning yesterday, saying he would have used “every resource, every asset, every power of this government” to protect the country had he known the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were coming.His answer to charges leveled by former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke came after the wife of a Sept. 11 attack victim greeted him on the Manchester Airport tarmac as he arrived for a three-hour visit.
“I think he’s doing an outstanding job leading our country,” said Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, whose husband, Tom, co-piloted American Air Lines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center. “I still feel strongly that he has supported the families of Sept. 11.”
A hug the President received from McGuinness upon his arrival was a clear contrast to the scene in Washington on Wednesday, when Clarke received hugs and handshakes from family members of Sept. 11 victims after telling the 9/11 Commission that the Bush administration scaled back the struggle against the terrorist organization al-Qaida after taking office in 2001.
McGuinness was not critical of Clarke, however.
“Many people have things to say about Sept. 11, “ she told New Hampshire reporters. “It’s very good for people to go to the commission to testify so that we can gather as much information as possible.
“Mr. Clarke obviously had some things to say, and it’s good that it is getting out so we can prevent any future terrorist attacks and keep America safe and make improvements where necessary.”
McGuinness also presented Bush with the first copy of her book, “Beauty Beyond the Ashes,” which she said is scheduled to arrive in bookstores on Aug. 11.
She said the book “says that basically we have a choice to go on, or to not. And I choose to go on because it is a great country and I have a strong faith. I can go on because of my faith and because of the support and encouragement that our nation, under the direction of President Bush, has shown for me and my family.”
She said she told Bush that “when things come out in the news, my children say, ‘Mom, what does President Bush say about this?’ And I’ll tell them what President Bush said.
“And they’ll say, ‘Well, Mom, if that’s what President Bush says, then that’s what we believe,’ and we go forward.”
McGuinness has two teenage children.
At the New Hampshire Community Technical College in Nashua, the President said the government has a “solemn duty” to protect the nation. He said initiatives such as the creation of a Department of Homeland Security, the Patriot Act and intelligence sharing, and having the U.S. military “on the offensive” have made the nation safer in the wake of Sept. 11.
“There’s a commission going on in Washington, D.C.,” Bush said. “It’s a very important commission. The commission is determined to look at the eight months of my administration and eight years of the previous administration to determine what we learn, what we can do to make sure we uphold our solemn duty.
“Had I known that enemy was going to use airplanes to strike America, to attack us, I would have used every resource, every asset, ever power of this government to protect the American people,” Bush said to loud applause from the 300 ticketed guests in the audience.
“There’s a lot of good folks working to keep us safe,” he said. “We overcame Sept. 11 because this nation refused to be intimidated. We weren’t going to let killers and assassins determine our course of life.”
Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, widow of pilot Tom McGuinness, gives President George W. Bush a copy of her new book, “Beauty Beyond the Ashes,” yesterday. (BOP LaPREE/UNION LEADER)
Beauty From the Ashes
by Sandra P. Aldrich
Early on the morning of Sept. 11, Tom McGuinness kissed his wife, Cheryl, goodbye and left for Boston’s Logan airport, where he was scheduled to co-pilot American Airlines Flight 11 to Los Angeles.
After driving their children, 16-year-old Jennifer and 14-year-old Tommy, to school, Cheryl poured a cup of coffee, grabbed a quilt and her Bible and sat on the back porch of their Portsmouth, N.H., home. Just as she finished praying, the phone rang. It was a friend, asking if Tom was home. At her negative answer, he hesitantly told her a plane had been hijacked and that he and his wife were on their way over to stay with her until they knew Tom was all right.
Cheryl grabbed the TV remote, but none of the buttons seemed to work. Then Jennifer and Tommy called, having heard the report at school, wondering if their dad was okay. The house quickly filled with friends who prayed with Cheryl as they waited. She was frustrated at the lack of news. Then Boston’s chief pilot for American Airlines arrived and sadly gave her the official word: Flight 11 had not only been hijacked but had been flown into New York City’s World Trade Center.
Cheryl reeled, hysterical. "No, God, please don’t call him home," she sobbed.
Friends drove Cheryl to school, where she met Jennifer and Tommy in the principal’s office. They knew from the look on their mother’s face she had bad news. All she could utter was "Jesus called Daddy home."
Reeling in pain
In the days that followed, Cheryl felt broken beyond what could ever be repaired. And the woman who had once described herself as a control freak was anything but in control. She often began her prayers with, "I can’t go on alone. You are the only one who can get me through this."
Tom’s memorial service paid tribute to his faith as hundreds packed their church, dabbing their eyes as Tommy described how his father read the Bible each morning. Cheryl hugged that scene to herself, thankful Jennifer and Tommy had had a godly dad and had observed a loving husband’s faith in action. But the days following the service were filled with constant reminders of her grief. Even during quick trips to the grocery store, she seemed to see only couples walking hand in hand.
And, of course, she grappled with the toughest of all questions: Why did this happen? All of America had been struggling with the tragedy, but for Cheryl the questions were personal: Why Tom? Then, Why me? And what about our precious children? Who will walk Jen down the aisle some day? Who will teach Tommy to shave?
She tried to maintain a regular home routine for the sake of the children as well as her own emotional stability. But during those early days, she felt all she could do was read the Word and pray. Her prayers were mostly cries for the Lord to hold her, comfort her and strengthen her for her new roles as widow and single mom.
"I would groan to God on my knees, knowing He hears my prayers," she says. "Isaiah 65:24 proclaims, ‘Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.’ I still take special comfort in that."
Remembering the past
The last night with Tom was a special evening as they celebrated his 42nd birthday. He had come home from a two-day trip to a delicious meal Cheryl had taken all day to prepare. Jennifer’s present to her dad was a love certificate for the two of them to go out to an Italian restaurant. Tommy’s gift was to spend time with him working to clean up the back yard.
That night, Cheryl had told Tom how she had seen God shape and mold him and how honored she felt to be his wife. As she again said, "I love you," his eyes shone at the depth of her expression.
As she replayed that evening after his death, she was grateful God had not told her what the next morning would bring. If she had known, she is convinced she would have spent their final hours together pleading with God not to call Tom home.
"Our last night would have been very different," she says. "Realizing this helps me accept that God knows the times and seasons in our life, and I don’t need to know everything. In fact, I shouldn’t know everything. I just need to move forward, trusting God each step of the way."
Leaning on the promises
"God is the only way I can survive," Cheryl says. "I’m comforted knowing that the Lord cradled Tom in His arms as the plane hit the World Trade Center. Our heavenly Father was there when His Son was hung on a cross and was crucified; He was there when Tom’s plane crashed. And I am convinced Jesus wept with me and with the others who hurt. Knowing that, my personal relationship with the Lord will never be the same. He cares about my pain, and He will settle my heart if I trust Him."
"I cling to every promise," she says. "To trust in the Word of God is hard sometimes, yet at the same time it brings incredible peace. A few weeks before Tom died, he told me to trust in God if anything ever happened. Something did. And it was terrible. But I am trusting God, and finding that He truly is trustworthy."
Adapted from (Zondervan) by Thomas L. Youngblood and Sandra P. Aldrich. Used by permission. To request this book, visit our online resource center.
Cheryl McGuinness shares her story nationwide. Find out about her speaking schedule by visiting her Web site. This article appeared in Focus on the Family magazine.
Copyright © 2002 Zondervan.
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
I will be ordering her book to use as inspiration.
“I think he’s doing an outstanding job leading our country,” said Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, whose husband, Tom, co-piloted American Air Lines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center. “I still feel strongly that he has supported the families of Sept. 11.”
“...basically we have a choice to go on, or to not. And I choose to go on because it is a great country and I have a strong faith. I can go on because of my faith and because of the support and encouragement that our nation, under the direction of President Bush, has shown...”
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We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!
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