Posted on 09/11/2006 3:23:23 PM PDT by Kaslin
ST. PAUL, Minn. - While searching for her birth parents two years ago, Mariah Mills found more than she bargained for: A hero of Sept. 11, 2001.
Mills’ biological father, who had given Mills up for adoption when he and his then-girlfriend were in college, was Tom Burnett, a leader of a group that fought back on United Flight 93 before it crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. Mills, 21, learned about her birth father in 2004 - after she turned 19, the legal age in Minnesota for requesting a birth certificate with names of birth parents - and subsequent DNA tests confirmed that Burnett was her father. “Before I was even born, my birth dad made a brave decision - to give me a life,” Mills told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in yesterday’s editions. “It was a selfless act, just like his actions on Flight 93. And, as awful as it was that he died, and I never got to know him, there is good that came out of this.”
Today, Mills has developed a relationship with Burnett’s widow, Deena, her three daughters, husband and stepson, and other members of Burnett’s family. She also celebrated her birthday with her birth mother, who lives in St. Paul with her husband and two children and asked not to be identified. Mills transferred to the University of Minnesota and is entering her senior year. She will spend her first semester studying abroad. Her dream job, she said, would be writing about baseball and covering the Minnesota Twins. Mills and her adoptive parents visited Jefferson High School in Bloomington during the spring of 2004 after Mariah found out about her birth parents. Mariah wanted to look up Tom Burnett in his senior yearbook. She found his photo and one of her birth mother, too. “It was weird to finally look like somebody,” Mills said. “I have her eyes, but mostly I look like a Burnett.”
Mariah Mills and her dad,
Walt Mills, visit the gravesite
of her biological father, Tom
Burnett, a 9/11 hero. (AP
Photo)
Great story.
Thank you for the link!!
That's sweet! And a big round of applause for the late Mr. Burnett and his then-girlfriend, for placing their baby for adoption.
She must be a terrific young lady, to have successful relationships with all these different parents.
Adoption story ping.
The exact reason I'm hunting for my birth parents. What a bitter-sweet moment.
Very nice story
I love your profile! I just printed out your St. Michael prayer to use with my family tomorrow morning. We always pray the standard prayer to the Archangel, but this one will really get their attention!
Thank you for serving!
8>)...thanks! I sort of ripped off some of that last part from the movie We Were Soldiers if you've seen it.
Tom Burnett's phone call: A man named Tom Burnett called his wife in California the plane. He was the Chief Operating Officer in a small company in Pleasanton, CA. He was the father of three children. Here is what he told his wife (paraphrased).
Our flight has been hijacked. The terrorists have knives and have stabbed someone. They indicate they are going to crash our plane into the capital building in Washington, DC.
I know we're all going to die, but we are going to do something, I love you honey."
Beautiful baby boy you got there (belated congrats)and children. Cool cat btw!
and applause for Deena Burnett for being (apparently) kind enough to
be receptive to the inquiry from the young lady.
If I'd been in Deena Burnett's place, I'd have held my breath in taking
that first call from the girl...fearing she might be some publicity-seeker
just trying to take advantage of the situation.
Nice to see it's turned out well.
I haven't seen the movie, but the prayer is cool, and my boys will love it. They all like John Wayne and Jack O'Neill, which is as good as any other military pop-culture frame of reference :-).
Thanks for the compliment for Vlad, he's the cutest thing ever! Two teeth, with four more arriving Any Time Now, and crawling :-).
I agree. Mrs. Burnett was very generous in a stressful situation.
What a great story...makes me realize there are good people all around us.
Yes, I'm amazed at how terrific people are, when I get to know them. Random people in my church, at the Wal-mart, in the neighborhood ... Americans are the right kind of people, at least around here!
If I may ask, how did you come up with Vlad for a nickname?
ping
He was assigned "Vlad" as his nickname by the North Carolina FR Forum, in honor of the great Transylvanian Moslem-fighter, Vlad the Impaler.
We call the baby "Vlad the Usurper," because he pushed James from his "center of the universe" position.
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