The FReeper Foxhole - AFSOC - Masters of Invisibility - September 11, 2004

Air Force Magazine ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

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USAF Special Operations Forces



Masters of Invisibility

In Afghanistan, the work of USAF Special Operations Forces was not seen but most assuredly felt.
Masters of Invisibility
By Richard J. Newman

It wasn't standard procedure, but the circumstances called for urgent action. North of Kandahar in Afghanistan, several US soldiers had been gravely wounded. Enemy forces were reported to the south. It was broad daylight, and local Afghans--loyalties unknown--were watching from surrounding hillsides. Soon, two MH-53 Pave Low helicopters--Chalk 1 and Chalk 2--from USAF's 20th Special Operations Squadron were speeding toward the site.

As they did so, a medic on Chalk 1 pointed out that there was a great oddity to this particular mission. "This is something I thought I'd never see," he said, "Afghanistan in the daytime."

Literally and figuratively, USAF Special Operations Forces stay in the shadows. These "air commandos," like their Army and Navy counterparts, use darkness as a cloaking device that helps them achieve maximum advantage against enemies who lack the technology and training to fight at night.



In a way, Air Force operators are more circumspect than special units from other services. Air Force SOF are rarely the trigger-pullers, so much of the attention for wartime exploits tends to go to the combat forces that the air commandos support. Other special operator units, such as the Navy SEALs and the Army's Special Forces, Rangers, and Delta Force, produce more news.

"You have to be quiet to do our business," said Lt. Gen. Paul V. Hester, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. "We move underneath the radar."

Though they were tough to spot in Afghanistan, USAF's air commandos were deeply involved in Operation Enduring Freedom and instrumental in its success.

Troops from Hurlburt fought alongside Army and Navy special operators on the ground in Afghanistan, calling in air strikes and rescuing comrades in danger. On many missions, they transported ground troops into and out of combat zones, in darkness and secrecy. SOF cargo aircraft dropped tons of supplies to US ground forces. And obscure specialists such as combat weathermen spent dangerous weeks in remote outposts gathering the various kinds of information needed in battle.



All Skills Needed

"We had the opportunity to demonstrate and employ every single skill we train to," said Brig. Gen. (sel.) Lyle M. Koenig Jr., commander of the 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt.

So invisible are the air commandos that many of their wartime exploits have been attributed to others. Throughout the war, for instance, news reports routinely credited Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) with calling in the air strikes that enabled the Northern Alliance's rout of Taliban forces.

In reality, USAF combat controllers called in about 85 percent of all air strikes in the war, according to Col. Robert Holmes, commander of the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt, which includes combat controllers, pararescuemen, and combat weathermen.

Typically, Central Command would assign one or two AFSOC specialists to each 12-person Green Beret team, known as an Operational Detachment Alpha, or ODA. While Green Beret ODAs train in spotting targets, Air Force combat controllers have more specialized knowledge and are used to working more closely with pilots.

Technical Sergeant Calvin (last name withheld), for instance, was one of several combat controllers sent to Uzbekistan in mid-October of last year. He was quickly teamed with an ODA that infiltrated to a location north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Oct. 19, meeting up with troops of the Northern Alliance. They were the first US team to hook up with the anti-Taliban forces.



"There was a little bit of tension at first," Calvin said, noting that the strange bedfellows took some time to size up each other. Within 30 hours, however, the team had called in its first air strike against nearby Taliban forces. "An immediate rapport was built," Calvin recalled.

Over ensuing days, Calvin's team moved stealthily among some 10 observation posts, finding Taliban targets as air strikes whittled the enemy down. "You work big to little," he said. He meant that the top priorities would be targets like military convoys, troop concentrations, tanks, or anti-aircraft guns. In addition to lasing targets or pinpointing coordinates for prompt strikes, Calvin and his team would analyze the enemy's order of battle and develop detailed targeting plans. Each night, they'd prepare a list of roughly five to 20 suggested targets and transmit the intelligence up the chain of command. Other targets obtained through other intelligence channels would come back down.

Virtually all of the proposed targets were approved. This marked a stark contrast with USAF's experience in the Kosovo war, during which hundreds of targets were put on no-strike lists because of concerns about collateral damage. "Rules of engagement," said Hester, "become much more liberal when you have physical eyes on the target"--an advantage lacking in Kosovo.

Overall, Calvin counts about 500 targets he helped identify and destroy.


These two photos show the view to which special operators are accustomed--Afghanistan through night vision goggles. Top, an MC-130 Combat Talon refueler awaits the arrival of Pave Lows. Here, a gunner on the ramp of an MH-53J scans the ground for enemy fire. (USAF photos by TSgt. Scott Reed )

The Real Pros

He and other combat controllers added depth to the ODAs' targeting expertise. Air Force controllers study the capabilities of surface-to-air missiles, and they routinely rehearse close air support procedures with Air Force pilots. "A lot of people say they can do this job," said Holmes, "but our airmen understand the view of the battlespace, they understand airspace management. They know which weapon to use and how to bring it in." They can also suggest ways to "fuse" weapons systems, or use different aircraft together to go after challenging targets.

At first, Calvin's team encountered a determined enemy.

"Sometimes, we'd take indirect fire, when they were just trying to fish something out," he recalled. "But when they found out our positions, we'd come under direct fire and get behind walls, get into the bunkers."

Enemy barrages could last as long as 30 minutes, until the spotters moved to another location or US air strikes silenced the guns. On the day the Northern Alliance began its final offensive, "we came under really heavy machine-gun fire," Calvin said. "We became high-value targets."

It quickly became apparent to the Americans that the Taliban's forces were badly overmatched.

"I don't think the enemy knew what was happening to them," said Calvin, who noted that Taliban and al Qaeda fighters talked over unsecure radios and thus allowed Calvin's team to listen in as they described the effectiveness of air strikes. "We'd get on-the-spot BDA [Bomb Damage Assessment] and correct based on that." Nor did the Taliban seem to learn quickly: "We'd see a convoy at night with its lights on. We'd get it, and an hour later here would come another one."

Even so, operating in Afghanistan without the slightest supply post nearby was arduous. Although they moved by horse and made do with local food, the ODAs still relied heavily on computers to upload and download intelligence information and to analyze targets. Global Positioning System devices were crucial. Some units deployed without the latest laser range finders, which had to be flown in later. Batteries for all of that equipment were forever running down. Resupplying key items, in terrain with virtually no road infrastructure, was a top priority from the beginning.

That's why the first deployments to the theater included many units besides those that would be operating in Afghanistan. On Sept. 20, for instance, just nine days after the terrorist attacks that opened the war, the 9th SOS from Eglin AFB, Fla., was heading overseas, not sure where it would end up.


Combat controllers in Afghanistan made do with local food and transportation but still relied heavily on computers to analyze targets. Global Positioning Satellite devices were crucial to the mission. (USAF photo)

The Refueling Task

Like many units, the 9th filled an important niche that would be crucial during combat operations. The squadron operates MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft. They function primarily as refueling tankers for helicopters. They would be a key link in any operations to infiltrate ground troops, and they proved to be a vital component of the search-and-rescue capability Central Command insisted on having on hand, in case any of the pilots flying over Afghanistan got shot down.

There were several alerts, but no shootdowns. The only rescues staged by the 9th involved a news photographer and a US soldier who developed altitude sickness. As ground troops began to enter Afghanistan, the MC-130s began to refuel the helicopters ferrying them in.

"It went smoothly, but Mother Nature conspired against us," said Lt. Col. Dan Fernandez, the squadron commander. Sandstorms and bad weather caused many mission aborts.



Ground troops worked their way in, though, and as they began operating inside Afghanistan, the mission of the 9th turned to the resupply of these forces. The ODAs' teammates in the rear would typically prepare bundles containing bullets, water, medicine, lasing equipment, and all the other gear the troops in country needed.

They'd deliver the bundles to units like the 9th, with prearranged drop zones. The MC-130s would then fly low and fast toward the drop zones. As they neared, there was a brief window of time when the ground units would contact the aircraft by radio to finalize the details. Punctuality was crucial. If the aircraft arrived late, the mission would most likely have to be scrapped, since the troops on the ground could only expose themselves at a drop zone for a few moments. In addition to the timing, the challenge, said Fernandez, "was trying to get it to them and make sure no one else gets it."

Occasionally, there was firsthand evidence of the impact of the resupply effort. During the Northern Alliance's mid-November siege of Kunduz, there was an urgent request for batteries. The bundle arrived late on the tarmac. The MC-130 took off with the haste of a fire truck heading to a blaze, and the crew made the drop zone on time. The troops got the batteries in time to power up the equipment they were using to call in air strikes during the offensive.

"We got to hear them calling in B-52 strikes using the batteries we had just delivered," beamed SSgt. Jule Stratton, a loadmaster with the 9th.


AC-130 gunships--another facet of USAF special operations forces--were used in Afghanistan to protect troops on the ground and to strike designated targets. Here, an AC-130H crew mans their heavy guns. (Staff photo by Guy Aceto)

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Omaha (CL-4)

Omaha class light cruiser

Displacement: 7,050 t.
Length: 555’6”
Beam: 55’4”
Draft: 20’0”
Speed: 34.7 k.
Complement: 458
Armament: 12 6”; 4 3”; 6 21” torpedo tubes

USS OMAHA (CL-4) was laid down 6 December 1918 by the Todd SB & DD Co., Tacoma, Wash.; launched 14 December 1920; sponsored by Miss Louise Bushnell White; and commissioned 24 February 1923, Capt. David C. Hanrahan in command.

Following her commissioning, OMAHA joined the Atlantic Fleet under peace time conditions. At this time her primary mission was training, and she proved to be very capable by consistently winning fleet awards in gunnery and communications. She made many ports-of-call throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean during her peacetime cruises, displaying the Stars and Stripes.

Just prior to the U. S. entry into World War II, on 6 November 1941, while on neutrality patrol with SOMERS (DD-381) in mid-Atlantic near the Equator, OMAHA sighted a vessel which aroused much suspicion by her actions. Refusing to satisfactorily identify herself, and taking evasive actions, the stranger was ordered to heave to. She flew the American flag and carried the name WILLMOTO of Philadelphia on her stern.

As OMAHA's crew dispatched a boarding party, the freighter's crew took to life boats and hoisted a signal which indicated that the ship was sinking. When the OMAHA party pulled alongside, they could hear explosions from within the hull, while one of the fleeing crewmen shouted "This is a German ship and she is sinking." In short order the men of the OMAHA, in spite of extreme dangers, had salvaged the vessel, rendered her safe and had her underway for Puerto Rico. The freighter, as it turned out, was the German ship ODENWALD, and her capture was one of the great dramas of American seamanship.

After the United States entered the war, OMAHA continued her South Atlantic patrol, instructed to stop Nazi blockade runners. While patrolling out of a base in Brazil, on 4 January 1944, with JOUETT (DD-396), she spotted a ship which immediately showed signs of being scuttled. The ship's crew took to the boats and she began settling by the stern. The following day another ship was sighted and its crew set her afire. OMAHA opened fire and the vessel disappeared beneath the waves. Both ships, German blockade runners Rio Grande and Burgenland, carried cargoes of rubber which the Germans desperately needed.

In March, OMAHA proceeded to Naples to prepare for landings in Southern France. On 19 August, she protected the flank of the units bombarding Toulon, and three days later took part in the operations that resulted in the surrender of the German garrison on the island of Porquerolles.

OMAHA was present at the surrender of Giens on 23 August, and on the 25th she delivered a sustained bombardment on targets in the Toulon area. Shortly thereafter she was detached from the operation and returned to patrol duties. The termination of hostilities (15 August 1945) found her patrolling in the South Atlantic.

OMAHA sailed for Philadelphia upon detachment from patrol, arriving 1 September. By 17 October she was slated for retirement, and she decommissioned 1 November 1945. OMAHA was struck from the Naval Register 28 November 1945, and scrapped in February 1946 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

OMAHA earned one battle star for service in World War II.

[manna]

Present!

[Samwise]

Somehow I kew that would be today's flag-o-gram.

Never forget!

[Soaring Feather]

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!

[Samwise]

We should still have the embeds. The anti-American talking heads didn't control the news flow when the embeds were covering the war live.

God bless our military. God bless them one and all.

[alfa6]

Cool F-O-G today PE

Good morning SAM, 2nd dang day in a row I missed you on my morning bump. Note to self, no bumps without some type of caffiene intake first :-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Samwise]

[Soaring Feather]

Thank You, Samwise. Wonderful graphic. It says everything without one word of text.

[CholeraJoe]

"If you can't hover, you're a queer!"

Actual toast given at a Dining-In at Hurlburt Field, FL, January, 1983.

Thanks tons for this thread, snippy and SAM.

[The Mayor]

September 11, 2004

Precious Names

Read: Luke 10:1,17-24

Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. —Luke 10:20

Bible In One Year: Proverbs 10-12; 2 Corinthians 4

---

No one expected the second anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to be as emotionally charged as the first. But that changed at Ground Zero in New York City when a group of 200 young people began reading the names of those who had died at the World Trade Center. The readers were the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews of the victims. The 2,792 names, precious to those who read them, brought a fresh reminder of those they had loved and lost.

A person's name represents his identity, accomplishments, and relationships. Someday our name may appear on a memorial plaque or gravestone as a mark of remembrance and honor.

But there is a heavenly ledger that is the most important of all. When Jesus' followers reported their successful service to Him, He replied: "Do not rejoice in this, . . . but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Then He thanked the Father for making the way to Him simple enough for even a child to understand (v.21).

A child values a loving relationship. In that spirit, we should rejoice that through faith in Christ we belong to God and are secure in His love for all eternity. Our names are precious to Him. —David McCasland

Our names are recorded in heaven,
Christ's death this high honor secured;
Believers have now a new standing
That nothing can change—we're assured. —D. De Haan

When you trust Jesus here on earth He writes your name in heaven.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the W quote Aeronaut.

[snippy_about_it]

Perfect flag-o-gram for today. Thanks PE.

[snippy_about_it]

Morning alfa6.

[snippy_about_it]

About what you would expect from a people who's mental development is stuck in the middle ages.

No kidding. I can just imagine some of our guys conversations when that happened!

[snippy_about_it]

Aim High bump.

I figgered you'd like it. :-)

[snippy_about_it]

Great post.

Thanks Grzegorz.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Deaths which occurred on September 11:
United Flight 93
Jason Dahl, Pilot
Leroy Homer, Jr., Pilot
Lorraine G. Bay, Flight Crew
Sandra W. Bradshaw, Flight Crew
Wanda A. Green, Flight Crew
Ceecee Lyles, Flight Crew
Deborah Ann Jacobs Welsh, Flight Crew
Passengers


Christian Adams
Todd Beamer
Alan Beaven
Mark Bingham
Deora Bodley
Marion Britton
Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.
William Cashman
Georgine Rose Corrigan
Patricia Cushing
Joseph Deluca
Patrick "Joe" Driscoll
Edward Porter Felt
Jane C. Folger
Colleen L. Fraser
Andrew Garcia
Jeremy Glick
Lauren Grandcolas
Donald F. Greene
Linda Gronlund
Richard Guadagno
Toshiya Kuge
Hilda Marcin
Waleska Martinez
Nicole Miller
Louis J. Nacke, II
Donald A. Peterson
Jean Hoadley Peterson
Mark "Mickey" Rothenberg
Christine Snyder
John Talignani
Honor Elizabeth Wainio
Kristin Gould White

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Christian Adams
37 years old
Biebelsheim, Germany
[The following is excerpted from a Wine Spectator article.]

Adams, who lived in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, joined the German Wine Institute in 1989 and became its export marketing director in 1995, with responsibility for promoting German wine outside the country. He worked for a short time in the New York office. He held degrees in viticulture and enology from the University of Geisenheim, in Germany, and in marketing from the University of California, Davis.

Carol Sullivan, director of the German Wine Information Bureau in New York, described Adams as "the hub of our whole wine promotion worldwide. He was extremely dedicated, considerate and could always be counted on for a well-thought out decision."

Adams was in New York on Monday, Sept. 10, for the bureau's annual vintage tasting of German wines, held at the Puck Building on Lafayette Street. He and other German winemakers and representatives were scheduled to repeat the tasting in San Francisco last Thursday.

On the morning of Sept. 11, Sullivan and Adams were both traveling to San Francisco for the tasting and left Newark on different flights, 15 minutes apart. Sullivan, whose flight was diverted, suffered a heart spasm upon hearing the fate of Adams and was hospitalized for a while. Many of the other German wine industry representatives were flying that day, but none were reported to be on Flight 93 or otherwise missing in the attacks.

Adams is survived by his wife, Silke, and two children, Lukas and Theresa. Lukas is seven years old and Theresa is five years old.

A memorial service was held at the Mainz Cathedral. In addition, the German Wine Institute has set up a fund for Adams' family. According to Carol Sullivan, donations in the United States are being coordinated by a former employee of the German Wine Information Bureau, Cindy Krebs Martin, and will be transferred to the account in Germany.

---

Lorraine G. Bay
Hightstown, NJ

Lorraine was one of the United Airlines flight attendants. The following text is from the Association of Flight Attendants:

Although she had no children of her own, Lorraine Bay watched over her brood of fellow United Airlines flight attendants like a mother.

A 37-year United veteran, she had chosen Flight 93 over another flight because it was nonstop.

She badgered her co-workers about getting their medical check-ups, bought clothes for people and even sent attractive hats to friends who were undergoing chemotherapy.

No event was too small to escape her notice. She lavished Gummi Bears on the son of a colleague, and was known for taking her camera to gatherings and printing multiple copies of the pictures to pass around.

Bay also routinely sent an avalanche of greeting cards for all occasions. Two ill colleagues received cards after her death that were postmarked Sept. 11, indicating that she had probably dropped them in the mail that morning from the airport.

"There wasn't a kinder, more considerate person on the face of the earth," fellow flight attendant Patricia Morris said. "I don't know what Hallmark is going to do. They're going to go bankrupt."

With 37 years on the job, Bay was fourth in seniority out of the roughly 700 flight attendants who work for United out of Newark, N.J.

Born across the state line in Bucks County, Pa., she joined the airline when being a flight attendant still carried a certain cachet. Based in San Francisco for her first three years on the job, she headed east and was then based at Newark for the rest of her career.

Priding herself on her appearance, Bay would get up in the middle of the night for a 7 a.m. flight to make herself up just so. She would let her husband of 22 years, Erich, sleep in their East Windsor, N.J. home while she drove herself to work.

Bay loved to fly and took pains to put passengers at ease.

"She was like everyone's favorite aunt who came to visit, brought you a present, talked to you, spent time with you," said Mary Bush, who by merit of her position as the most senior United flight attendant at Newark had known Bay for more than 30 years. "She was that way to passengers, too."

Altering herself like a chameleon changes colors, Bay would match her personality to connect with children, senior citizens and everyone in between who came under her ministrations during a trip.

"Work," Bush said, "was a love affair for her."

---

Todd M. Beamer
32 years old
Cranbury, New Jersey

Todd was an account manager for Oracle Corp. On weekends he taught Sunday school. At Los Gatos High School in California he had been a standout basketball and baseball player. "He was very caring and kind," said his sister Michele.

Todd used an onboard phone to call a GTE operator. The operator, Lisa Jefferson, said he told her that he and others on the plane were planning to act against the terrorists.

After he and the operator recited the 23rd Psalm, he asked her to promise she would call his wife of seven years, Lisa -- who is expecting a third child in January -- and their two sons David, three years old, and Andrew, one year old.

At the end of the 13-minute conversation, Todd put down the phone but left the line open. The last words the operator heard were, "Let's roll."

Please visit The Todd M. Beamer Foundation.
http://www.beamerfoundation.org/

---

Alan Beaven
48 years old
Oakland, California

The following is an excerpt from an article on OpenDemocracy.net by Mike Edwards, a friend of Alan's.

Alan died the day after his eighth wedding anniversary, returning to California to prosecute his latest case against pollution in the South Fork of the American River. After a lifetime spent teaching and practicing public interest law in New Zealand, London, New York and San Francisco, Alan had risen to become the finest environmental lawyer on the West Coast.

Alan leaves behind a large and loving extended family, including John and Chris, his two sons by his first wife Liz, and the exquisite Dahlia Sonali, his 5-year old daughter by his second wife, Kimi Kaipaka.

"Where is Alan?" a friend asked Sonali last week, worried that she might not understand the reality of her father's death.

"He's in court," she said, understanding perfectly well, "defending the angels."

---

Mark Bingham
31 years old
San Francisco, CA

Mark was the CEO of The Bingham Group, a public relations firm with offices in San Francisco and New York. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1993.



In 1991 and 1993 he helped the University of California earn national titles in rugby. Jack Clark, the coach of the rugby team, said "He marched to his own beat. This guy was anything but a follower. I don't know if we'll ever know what happened in that airplane, but it would not surprise me that Mark would resist."

A few years ago, the six-foot-five Bingham wrestled a gun from a mugger's hand late at night on a San Francisco street. In July he was carried on the horns of a bull in Pamplona.

Mr. Bingham's uncle, Linden Hogland, said, "Our family figured it out this way. His personality is so obstreperous and irrepressible. You couldn't hold him back. We're sure that after the phone call there was a real struggle, a physical confrontation."

John McCain recently delivered a eulogy to honor the openly gay Bingham, who was one of his supporters in the 2000 presidential campaign. In it he said:

I never knew Mark Bingham. But I wish I had. I know he was a good son and friend, a good rugby player, a good American, and an extraordinary human being. He supported me, and his support now ranks among the greatest honors of my life. I wish I had known before September 11 just how great an honor his trust in me was. I wish I could have thanked him for it more profusely than time and circumstances allowed. But I know it now. And I thank him with the only means I possess, by being as good an American as he was.
Click here for more from PlanetOut.com about McCain's eulogy.

Paul Holm, Bingham's former partner, represented the family at the Day of Remembrance. Holm said of Bingham and fellow local hero Tom Burnett, who also fought back, "They were the one bright spot in a horrible day. I do believe (Mark and Tom) gave people something to hold onto."

Mark's friends and teammates at The San Francisco Fog Rugby Club have created a tribute page at http://www.sffog.org/marktribute.html.

Also see http://www.markbingham.org/

---

Deora Bodley
20 years old
San Diego, CA

A student at Santa Clara University.

[The following is excerpted from an article in the New Jersey Union Tribune.]

Ms. Bodley was born in San Diego and had attended La Jolla Country Day School. She was about to begin her junior year at the Santa Clara University.

"She was just a bright light," said her mother, Deborah Borza of San Diego, an employee with Copley Information Services in La Jolla. "She was a kind and generous person. She was fiercely independent and a leader. She was the future of the country."

While in San Diego, Ms. Bodley volunteered with the Helen Woodward Animal Center. She also was active in TRACE -- Teens Respond to AIDS with Caring and Education -- a peer education program in which teens talked to fellow high school students about sexually transmitted diseases.

At Santa Clara University, where Ms. Bodley was majoring in psychology and French, she was active in America Reads, in which she helped tutor children in reading at a Santa Clara elementary school.

"She made a difference everywhere she went," her mother said.

In addition to her mother, survivors include her father, Derrill Bodley of Stockton, CA; a 10-year-old sister, Murial; her grandparents, Pat and Francis Guerra of Foxfire, NC; a great-grandmother, Jean Guerra of Elyria, Ohio; her 28-year-old step-sister Eva Rupp of Washington, DC; and Nancy Mangum-Bodley, her step-mother who lives in Stockton with Deora's father.

The family suggested donations to the Helen Woodward Animal Center, 6461 El Apajo Road, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067; TRACE, in care of La Jolla Country Day School community service program, 9490 Genesee Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037; or America Reads.

---

Sandra Bradshaw
38 years old
Greensboro, NC

Sandy Bradshaw was part of the crew. She grew up in the rural community of Climax, North Carolina, south of Greensboro.

Her husband of 11 years, Phil Bradshaw, is a pilot for U.S. Airways. At approximately 9:30am that morning, Phil received a call from Sandra. "Have you seen what's happening? Have you heard?" She asked in a calm voice. "We've been hijacked."



Sandra told her husband that she and other flight attendants were boiling water to toss on the hijackers. Nearby, she said, three men were whispering the 23rd Psalm. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want ...." Then one of the men apparently made the call to charge the hijackers.

The Bradshaw family has three children: Shenan; two-year-old Alexandra; and one-year-old Nathan. "She lived every moment for them," said Phil Bradshaw. "I want them to know how much good their mother always did and how much of a hero I really think she is."

Donations for the young children can be sent to:

Memorial Trust for Alexandra & Nathan Bradshaw at Wachovia Bank
609 Green Valley Road
Greensboro N.C. 27408
Attn. Nancy D. Bowen

---

Marion Britton
53 years old

Marion Britton grew up in Queens, New York. She worked as an accountant early in her career and then left to work on the 1980 Census. In those early years at the Census Bureau she was known to visit struggling families to ask her questions, and then return the next day with gifts of food or clothing. Over the years she rose to become an assistant regional director for the U.S. Census Bureau.

"My son used to say she was his fairy godmother," said her brother, the Rev. Paul Britton of Huntington Station, N.Y. "On any holiday, Marion was like a bag lady, pulling out gifts that were precious and something delicious -- Italian or German pastries or New York cheesecakes she'd bring along."

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Thomas Burnett, Jr.
38 years old
San Ramon, CA

Mr. Burnett was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corp., a maker of medical devices based in Pleasanton, California.

In 1980, he was the standout quarterback for Jefferson High in Bloomington, Minnesota, when the team went to the division championship game in 1980. That team rallied around Burnett every time it was in trouble.

He was an alumni of the University of Minnesota.

Mr. Burnett phoned his wife Deena four times. In the first call he told her about the situation on the plane and asked her to call authorities. The second time he phoned, he told her that he believed their captors were going to fly the plane into the ground. "The next time he called," Mrs. Burnett said, "I could tell they were formulating a plan." In the last call, he reportedly said, "I know we're going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it."

At his memorial service Mr. Burnett's older sister, Martha Burnett O'Brien, said she's struggling with her brother's death, partly because she didn't see him the last time he visited the family in Minnesota. It was a week and a half before his death. "I didn't know it was going to be my last chance. I regret not making time, not catching him before he flew out. I figured that I had a lifetime of opportunities to do that. And in the course of this loss, our country has gained a hero," she said.

His sister also added that her brother would be happiest if everyone in the audience at least did a little something to improve the country after last week's tragedy.

Thomas Burnett was the father of three girls, five-year-old twins, Madison and Halley, and four-year-old Anna-Claire.

Mr. Burnett's employer has set up a memorial fund. All the money collected will go directly into a fund for Deena Burnett. She plans to use the money largely for the children's education.

Send donations to:

The Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Family Memorial Fund
c/o CIBC Oppenheimer Corp.
Account #074-17387-10
580 California Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94104
phone: (415) 438-3000
If you wish to send a letter to the family, send it to Deena Burnett, c/o Thoratec Corp. att: Beth Taylor, 6035 Stone Ridge Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588.

---

William Cashman
57 years old
North Bergen, NJ

William Cashman's best friend, John "Hesh" Linner, wrote:

Billy was born and raised in the Hell's Kitchen Section of the West of NYC. After serving in the Air Force, he worked for 40 years as a Local 46 Lather (Ironworker). He was an instructor for many years at the Welding School for lathers.

Billy practiced karate for 10 years, working himself up to a red belt before a stomach operation forced him to quit. He was a quiet man with a wonderful sense of humor who loved a good bottle of wine and conversation with friends. He was never boastful and yet was accomplished at everything he ever put his mind to. He was a very influential and loving uncle to his many nieces and nephews, spending time with them on vacations and at their school activities.

Billy was an enthusiastic outdoors man who loved to hike. He spent many days hiking at Harriman State Park, but his happiest times were spent hiking out west at Glacier State Park and Yosemite National Parks. Billy died on Flight 93 on September 11th. He was on his way to Yosemite along with his pal, Joe Driscoll where they were meeting up with John Linner. These three buddies had made several hiking trips together and it was a time they cherished.

Billy leaves his lovely wife, Maggie and many friends and family members who miss this truly wonderful man. Billy was a calm and patient man who was fun to be around. He was greatly admired and loved by all who knew him. Indeed, it was a privilege just knowing him.

Lee T. Wong, a student of Mr. Cashman, wrote in to say:

Billy was my welding teacher. I will truly miss this sweet and gentle human being. He was the kind of teacher that "sorta held me by the hand" through my start to getting my licences. He never shunned anyone, he was always there for help, and to answer questions. He gave us all undivided attention. He never gave negative feedback when we had bad days. He was always calm and would say something like, "Maybe you should do it faster or try another heat setting." He is one teacher that I can learn from if I ever decide to teach.

Billy, you will always be near to my heart. Thank you for giving me the honor to have known you. You taught me more than welding, you taught me humanity.

---

Georgine Rose Corrigan
56 years old
Honolulu, Hawaii

Georgine Rose Corrigan was a prominent antiques and collectibles dealer who had been on an East Coast buying trip for a collectibles show in November.

Fellow collectibles dealer Eileen Wong said, "She was someone who was like a mother figure to a lot of people. She always had good advice and was always optimistic."

Georgine moved from Toledo, Ohio to Honolulu in 1976. She first worked as a bank teller, later worked in the textiles industry, and eventually opened her own collectibles business with the help of her brother, Kevin Marisay.

Among the loved ones Georgine leaves behind are Laura Brough, her daughter; Bryan Buck, her son-in-law; and her grandsons Evan and Dylan.

A memorial fund has been set up in Corrigan's name to assist the family. Donations and correspondence can be sent to Laura Brough, P.O. Box 25643, Honolulu, HI 96825.

Bryan Buck forwarded us these two links:

"My Mom," Art-Broker.com
http://www.art-broker.com/mom.htm
"Family honors fallen matriarch," Honolulu Advertiser
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Sep/16/ln/ln66a.html

---

Patricia Cushing
69 years old
Bayonne, NJ
Jane Folger
73 years old
Bayonne, NJ

The following is from a San Francisco Chronicle article by Jaxon Van Derbeken.
Click here for the full story.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/09/30/MN224865.DTL

As America seeks to honor the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93, it would be easy to overlook two elderly sisters-in-law and best friends from Bayonne, N.J.

After all, since their families at first sought to grieve in private, their names are not on any official accounting of the doomed flight's passengers or on public lists of proposed honorees for the Congressional Gold Medal.

But in their quiet lives and good deeds, Patricia Cushing, 69, and Jane Folger, 73, embody what is good and heroic about America.

---

Jason Dahl
43 years old
Denver, CO

The captain of United Flight 93. A fellow pilot told Denver's Rocky Mountain News that the week before the flight, Jason Dahl sent an e-mail seeking another pilot to take the flight on September 11 so that he could spend the day with his family.

[The following is excerpted from a press release by the Evangelical Lutheran Church.]

"His war has been won. He is free," said the Rev. Janice Erickson-Pearson, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Littleton, Colo. Holy Trinity is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Erickson-Pearson preached at the service honoring Dahl.

During worship Matt Dahl, son of the late Jason Dahl and a member of Holy Trinity, shared a story with the congregation about his father reading Dr. Seuss rhymes at bedtime. After reading some pages of a Dr. Seuss book, Matt said, "Good night, Dad."

For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's biography of John Dahl, click here.

The Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund has been established to provide scholarships to the children of the flight crews and to provide an annual scholarship for an individual attending an accredited flight school. Donations to the scholarship fund may be sent to:


Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund
Foothills Bank
12644 West Indore Place
Littleton, CO 80127

---

Joseph DeLuca
Newark, NJ


The following is an excerpt from the intranet site at Pfizer Corp., passed on to us by Lee Williams, a friend of Joe.

A funeral mass was held for DeLuca on Friday, September 21, in Union, New Jersey.

Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Joe was a graduate of Vailsburg High School. He attended the Newark College of Engineering and Jersey City State College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics.

At the time of his death, Joe worked for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare in Morris Plains as a Systems Business Consultant in the Information Systems group. He began his career with the company 23 years ago as a programmer for Warner-Lambert. He steadily progressed up the career ladder to his current role, which entailed developing systems and technology applications.

Joe was a car racing enthusiast and served as a board member of the Sports Car Club of America, Northern New Jersey Region. He was also the creator of "The Adventures of Raymond the Cat," a syndicated cartoon that appeared in the club's monthly newsletter and other publications across the country.

He is survived by his mother, father, and sister.

He is survived by his mother, father, and sister.

Click here for a well-written personal profile of Joe written for the July 2001 issue of SportsCar Magazine.
http://www.hazlitt.org/united/deluca.html

Click here to see Joe's "Raymond the Cat" cartoons.
http://www.morgan34.org/raymond.html
Some of these are laugh-out-loud funny, even when you're not in laughing mood.

---

Patrick Joseph Driscoll
70 years old
Manalapan, NJ

A retired research director for Bell Communications.

The following personal messages are excerpted from the guestbook for Joseph Driscoll at AmericanLegacy.com:

"I will always remember Joe -- He was a good friend of my parents in the Bronx. He was always smiling. We missed them when they moved to Englishtown, but always remembered them thru the years. He will be sadly missed by all. All my sympathy to his beautiful wife, children and grandchildren." --Patti McNamara (Maywood, NJ )

"I had the good fortune to meet Joe about 57 years ago. We were young boys who loved to play all the sports in whatever season was happening at the time. We became friends and our families would get together whenever we could. In our neighborhood we continued to play softball even as the guys got a little older, and every year we would have an oldtimers softball game. Without fail we get about 35 to 40 guys. Everyone knew JOE and knew he was a man's man, a good friend. loving husband and good father to his 4 children. I always thought we would grow old together and have many years to play some golf with our mutual friends, but it was not tc be. Dear JOE my life will never be the same, so much emptiness for so many people. But I am real glad you came into my life. We will never forget the good times had by all. Love Bill." --William Spade (Staten Island, NY)

"I am happy to have known 'Joe' and there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that he was a major force in the passenger retaliation against the terrorists. I urge his family and friends to read the poem 'How Did You Die?' by Edmund Vance Cook." --Ralph Laurita (Breinigsville, PA)
http://www.seekerscircle.com/Articles/evc-howdidyoudie.htm

---

Edward Porter Felt
41 years old
Matawan, NJ

[Koorosh Nehchiri, a colleague of Ed Felt's at BEA Systems, emailed us with this information and added: "He is mourned and remembered by family and friends alike as he was truly an example of a noble, kind, respectable and intelligent human being. ... Let us keep his memory alive as long as it is possible."]

Ed Felt was a technical director for BEA Systems, a software firm in Liberty Corner, New Jersey. He was one of their "first employees, best engineers, and most respected and loved colleagues."

Born in Utica, NY, he graduated from Colgate and Cornell universities. He had lived in Matawan, New Jersey for the past 20 years.

He leaves behind a wife, Sandra Valdez Felt, two daughters, Adrienne, 14, and Kathryn, 11, his mother, two brothers -- Larry Felt of Syracuse and Gordon Felt of Remsen, NY -- three brothers-in-law, five sisters-in-law, five nieces and four nephews.

A scholarship fund has been established for Ed's children, Adrienne and Kathryn. If you'd like to make a contribution to this scholarship fund, please send a check payable to "Adrienne and Kathryn Felt" c/o: Randy MacBlane, BEA Systems, Inc., 140 Allen Road, Liberty Corner, NJ 07938. Funds collected will be used to set up a UTMA account for the benefit of the children's education to be administered by Sandy.

The family has also asked that donations be made, in lieu of flowers, in Ed's memory to either: American Red Cross (1-800-HELP-NOW) or Matawan United Methodist Church, 478 Atlantic Avenue, Matawan, NJ 07747.

---

Colleen Fraser
51 years old
Elizabeth, NJ

The following is from a tribute page at the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council Web site.

Colleen, an advocate for people with disabilities for 20 years, served on the [New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council] for more than 11 years. She was appointed chair of the Council by Governor James Florio in 1990 and served in that position for five years. In July, she was elected by the Council as its vice-chair.

Colleen was recently hired as executive director of the Progressive Center for Independent Living (PCIL), the independent living center for Mercer and Hunterdon counties and is president of the board of Community Access Unlimited, an Elizabeth-based non-profit agency providing housing, employment and support services for 7,000 people with disabilities. She was on her way to a seminar on grant writing, to boost her skills for her new job at PCIL when her plane went down. Over her career she served as director of the Union County Office on the Disabled and as the director of D.I.A.L., another independent living center.

Colleen is well known statewide as a leading voice for people with disabilities. She advocated strongly for community living options for people with developmental disabilities, urging the state to move more quickly to end the institutionalization of more the 1,500 people still living in the state's large developmental centers who have been determined ready to move and who want to move. She also worked tirelessly to promote the importance of listening to people with disabilities about the supports they need and making sure those supports meet those needs.

Colleen had also established a national reputation for her fiery advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. She was instrumental in launching a statewide initiative to improve health care for women with disabilities following her participation in a national conference on the same topic. She joined other New Jersey advocates to lead the largest state contingent supporting the ADA at the first congressional hearing on that landmark legislation.

Recently she led a group of people with disabilities to a "Speak Out" on deinstitutionalization in Washington. This event typified her passionate support of the 1998 Supreme Court decision, Olmstead vs. L.C., which ruled it was a violation of a person's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act to keep them in an institutional setting past the time when it had been determined to be appropriate. Colleen believed this landmark decision was a key component to her ongoing efforts to get people with disabilities out of institutions and nursing homes.

A colleague and friend of Colleen's, Robin (Zimenoff) Bolduc, wrote on the NJDDC memorial site:

I can picture her on that plane -- flaming red hair, cane flying -- leading the charge -- 'We are Americans -- we rule our own destinies.'

---

Andrew "Sonny" Garcia
62 years old
Portola Valley, California

Dorothy Garcia, Andrew's wife, received a call during the final minutes of the United flight that she believes was from her husband. There was so much static in the line, however, that all she could make out was a voice that appeared to say, "Dorothy." Then the line went silent.

---

Jeremy Glick
31 years old
West Milford, New Jersey

Mr. Glick was a sales and marketing executive for an Internet company, Vividence.

He was described by brother-in-law Doug Hurwitt as a "take-charge guy," and was a national collegiate judo champion at the University of Rochester.

When Jeremy phoned his wife, Lyzbeth, he said that the pilots and flight attendants had been forced to the back of the plane, one passenger had been stabbed to death, and that the hijackers claimed they had a bomb.

Lyzbeth Glick said her husband was nervous about rushing the hijackers, but the tenseness didn't keep him from joking. He said he still had his butter knife from the in-flight breakfast.

His 20-minute call not only gave him several opportunities to tell his wife he loved her, but it also enabled Mrs. Glick's mother to contact police on another line, allowing authorities to listen in on much of the call and to gather information about the passengers' plight.

Jeremy told his wife to take care of Emmy (Emerson), their 12-week-old daughter, and "have a good life."

He asked his wife not to hang up. He was going to leave the air phone off the hook while the group of passengers tried to implement their takeover. But she couldn't bear to listen and handed the phone to her father. Lyzbeth Glick's father heard rustling, a brief silence, then more rustling from the open line to the plane. Then screams followed by dead silence.

Mr. Glick is survived by his wife Lyzbeth, his daughter Emerson, his parents and five siblings.

MSNBC's Jane Pauley interviewed the Lyz shortly after the tragedy and in August 2002.

A non-profit organization called Jeremy's Heroes has been established by Jeremy's brothers and sisters. It is dedicated to building character and confidence in America's youth through sports.

We have addresses for these three funds for the Lyzbeth and Emerson, but we can not confirm which is official:

Glick Family Fund c/o Fleet Bank
1618 Union Valley Rd.
West Milford, NJ 07480
phone: (973) 728-2747

Emerson Glick
c/o Merrill Lynch
P.O. Box 911
Windham, NY 12496


Jeremy Glick Memorial Fund
[Checks should reference account number 3300314192]
Silicon Valley Bank
Attention: Farrah Conanan
3003 Tasman Drive
Mailsort HF 280
Santa Clara, CA 95054

---

[Valin]

---

Lauren Grandcolas
38 years old
San Rafael, CA

Lauren Grandcolas was a saleswoman for Good Housekeeping magazine. She was returning from her grandmother's funeral in New Jersey.

Neighbors say Lauren was often seen racing through the hills of her neighborhood on inline skates. "She was just a very, very kind and loving person who enjoyed life," said Mark Grandcolas, her brother-in-law who lives in Burlingame.

A friend of Lauren and Jack Grandcolas, Steve Anderson, gave us some details about Lauren's brief cell phone call from the plane:

What Jack authorized me to pass along to you is that it was a brief message to him and her family expressing her love for them and "that there was a little problem on the plane, that she said she was fine for now, that she just wanted us to know how much she loved us."

She was brave and calm given what she was going through. Jack and Lauren's family have not released the tape or any transcript to anybody to keep it private and unsensational.

The following is excerpted from a notice in the Los Angeles Times on September 18, 2001.

Lauren Grandcolas was born in Bloomington, Indiana on August 31, 1963. She was the daughter of Lawrence and Barbara Catuzzi of Houston, TX and Lake Toxaway, NC; the cherished and adored wife of Jack Grandcolas of San Rafael, CA; the loving sister of Dara Ann Near of Short Hills, NJ and Vaughn Catuzzi Lohec of Chatham, NJ.

Lauren was a graduate of Stratford High School in Houston, TX and the University of Texas in Austin, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. Lauren and Jack were members of the Marin Country Club in Novato, CA.

While residing in San Francisco, she worked for the law firm of Thelin, Marlin, Johnson, and Bridges as a marketing executive, followed by positions at Price Waterhouse and Good Housekeeping Magazine. Most recently, Lauren was collaborating with a publisher on a boo related to women's life-style achievements aimed at boosting the self-confidence of women specifically, and adult behavior in general. This nonfiction work was a long-term goal and source of great pride to her.

Lauren so appreciated the outdoors that, in her spare time, she participated in hiking, jogging, roller blading, and kayaking amongst many other activities. Lauren was a strong and caring friend to everyone she knew; she will be dearly missed by all.

Lauren left us the way she lived her life, strong, determined, courageous and our heroine.

Contributions may be made to:

The Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation
600 Travis, Suite 4200
Houston, TX 77002

---

Wanda Green
49 years old
Linden, New Jersey

Wanda was a flight attendant on United Flight 93. She worked for United Airlines for 30 years, had a lifelong passion for flying and dreamed of seeing the world.

Wanda's mother, Aserene Smith, called her daughter the night before the plane crashed in Pennsylvania to find out what time to expect her at the family's home in Oakland, California. "She had just cut the light and she was in bed," Smith said. "I said, 'OK, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you.'"

She is survived by her two children, her mother, father, brother and twin sister.

---

Donald Greene
52 years old
Greenwich, CT

Mr. Greene was the CEO was Safe Flight Instrument Corp., a White Plains, New York, firm that also sponsored the Corporate Angel Network, a program that flies cancer victims throughout the country for treatment.

Donald's family has wondered why he didn't call from the plane, but they think they know the answer.

"There's no question in our minds he was in control of the plane at the end," said Mr. Greene's sister-in-law, Cecilia Rhoda. "I could hear him saying, 'We're going to die anyway, but let's prevent as much chaos as we can.'"

---

Linda Gronlund
46 years old
Warwick, NY

An employee of BMW, working in environmental compliance.

David Freilich, VP and General Counsel for Volvo Financial Services, and David Wertheim, VP and General Counsel for Ferrari North America Inc. wrote into Automotive News regarding Linda Gronlund:


To those of us who knew her while she worked at Volvo Cars of North America from 1985 to 1990, Linda will always be remembered as an uplifting and professional colleague and friend.
What set Linda apart from others, however, was the laser-like intensity and passion with which she went about her work. We have no doubt that Linda played a key role in ensuring that Flight 93 never struck its intended target.

Sadly, the automotive community has lost one of its finest members.

---

Richard Guadagno
38 years old
Eureka, CA

Richard was the manager of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in northern California. He had completed training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, so it's easy for his friends to imagine that he was involved in the heroic efforts of the passengers that day.

"Richard would have been one of the ones to intervene," said Dave Paullin, his supervisor at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A stained glass artist, Richard Guadagno hunted, fished, camped, hiked, studied the stars and worked in his greenhouse. He spent most of the last year supervising work on a new visitor's center at the refuge. "He watched over that project like a mother hen," Paullin said. "He really wanted it to be an asset to the community. He was looking forward to showing off 'his' refuge."

---

LeRoy W. Homer, Jr.
36 years old
Marlton, New Jersey

Mr. Homer was the first officer of United Flight 93 -- the co-pilot.

A native of Hauppage, New York, he was an Air Force Academy graduate, a recruiter for the academy, a former Air Force pilot, and an Air Force reservist.

Friends say he was also a dedicated family man. "He loved his job. He loved his family," said Martin Hnatov, a friend.

Mr. Homer is survived by his wife, Melodie, and a 10-month-old daughter.

The following message is excerpted from the guestbook for Leroy Homer at AmericanLegacy.com:

"LeRoy was a friend from grade school and high school. We recently reconnected and in May he visited my home. He met with my husband and my son. LeRoy was so happy to share pictures of his new baby, Laurel, and his wife, Melodie. I was so pleased that he was able to stop in on his way to Kennedy airport where he was flying out of that day.

"LeRoy grew in to a fine man. I remember the boy he was back in 1979 and the young man he became in 1987. All grown up, he became a gentleman. I am sorry that our firendship will not grow. God bless you, LeRoy, I know you died doing what impassioned you. Flying was your life ... it was evident."

Love, Michele LaBarr-Haynes (Rego Park, NY)

The LeRoy W. Homer, Jr. Foundation has been established to provide scholarships for flying lessons for adolescents interested in one day pursuing an aviation career.
http://www.leroywhomerjr.com/

---

Toshiya Kuge
20 years old
Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Toshiya was a second-year student in the science and engineering school at Waseda University, in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. According to relatives, he left Japan on August 29 and had planned to return Wednesday, September 12, 2001.

The following message is excerpted from the guestbook for Toshiya Kuge at AmericanLegacy.com:

"We met Toshiya ten days before the crash, when we were on a rafting trip together in the Canadian Rockies. We had a lovely day talking with him about his life. He was a kind and gentle person. When we saw a Dateline special about Flight 93 we were horrified to recognize his picture among the victims. We have sent his family our condolences. But not many Americans are talking about the non-U.S. people who were killed. Toshiya's death was tragic and no less grievous than any others. We are honored to have met him." --Debbie and Kristen (Chicago, IL)

---

Hilda Marcin
79 years old
Budd Lake, NJ

The following story by Laura Bruno
Many staff members [of the Morris County public schools] also knew the inevitable fate of 79-year-old retired aide and Mount Olive resident Hilda Marcin. Staff members knew her well and knew her plans to visit her daughter in San Francisco and knew which flight she was taking ...

"She was a person we all hoped to be like at that age -- to have that energy and enthusiasm," said Fair. Fair described Marcin as a Jessica Tandy-like character in her sharpness of wit and enthusiasm for life. "When other people would stop, she kept going."

Marcin was a classroom aide at Tinc Road for 14 years after retiring as an office manager at a Newark company, he said.

"The kids liked and respected her," Fair said. "She's the kind of person you didn't forget."

School officials received confirmation about her death Tuesday from her granddaughter, who works in the school district. Marcin's daughter lives in Budd Lake.

"We struggled as a staff," Fair said, "even though we feel she's still with us. It made the tragedy so much more real."

---

Waleska Martinez
37 years old
Jersey City, NJ

Waleska Martinez was an automation specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau. She was on her way to a Census Bureau conference in San Francisco.

The Chicago Tribune reported that she did not want to go on this flight. Her mother and brother were visiting from Puerto Rico. "She felt like she was leaving her heart behind," Martinez's friend and co-worker, Maritza Padilla-Laureda. "It was very hard for her to get on that plane." But she was a hard worker -- in fact, in 1997 the Census Bureau awarded her a bronze medal for her dedication to her job.

---

Nicole Carol Miller
21 years old
San Jose, CA

The following biography, photo, and poem were sent to us by Nicole's father and step-mother, David and Catherine Miller:

Nicole Carol Miller was born March 4, 1980, in San Jose, California. She lived all her life in San Jose, attending Allen Elementary School, Bret Harte Middle School, and Pioneer High School, where she graduated in 1998. At Pioneer High School, Nicole was a good student. She was on the championship varsity swimming/diving team in her freshman and sophomore years. She played softball all four years of high school, winning a softball college scholarship in her senior year. After high school, Nicole continued to be an athlete who loved to work out, hike, play softball, ride horses, and jog.

On the Dean's List at West Valley College in Saratoga, California while working her way through college, Nicole was finishing up her last eight units. She planned to transfer to California State University, Chico or California State University, San Jose in January 2002, where she was expecting to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree.

Nicole had a wonderful outlook on life. Her brilliant smile lit up entire rooms and her loving personality made everyone, including strangers, feel right at home. It would be natural for her to give her life for another's and that she did, bravely and heroically, along with the crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

Nicole is survived by her father, David J. Miller; stepmother, Catherine M. Miller; mother, Cathy M. Stefani; stepfather, Wayne Stefani Sr.; and her siblings, Tiffney M. Miller, David S. Miller, Danielle L. Miller, Wayne Stefani Jr., Joshua R. D. Tenorio, and Anthony D. Tenorio.

"How I Love Thee My Nicole"

When the thoughts of you come into my mind

Its as if a breeze has passed throught our rose garden and the sweet savory I smell

The taste of roses upon my tongue bring the sweetness of your memory to my mind

It comes upon me as the morning dew weighs the roses down

Smooth and pleasant are the thoughts of you, as the petals of a rose

And once again I am nourished with your love

Dedicated to the memory of Nicole Carol Miller. Written by David James Miller, Nicole's Father, on September 11, 2001.

Nicole Carol Miller also has a website set up by a gentleman who survived the WTC:
http://www.nicolemillermemorial.com/

A Nicole Miller Scholarship Fund has been established. You can send your donations to:

West Valley/Mission College Foundation
Attn: Nicole C. Miller Scholarship Fund
14000 Fruitvale Ave.
Saratoga, CA 95070

---

Louis J. Nacke II
42 years old
New Hope, PA

A distribution center director for Kay-Bee Toys. He was recently married.

Tom Atkisson, who had worked for Nacke for 12 years, described him for the Washington Post:

"Lou was the kind of guy that could take you into the office and kind of let you know where you were and where you needed to be, and then five minutes later come back and be joking with you.
"He was very career-oriented. But eventually he met Amy and was very happy finally after years of being single."

---

CeeCee Ross-Lyles
34 years old
Fort Myers, FL

Mrs. Lyles was one of the flight attendants on board United 93. Before working as a flight attendant, she was a police officer for six years. She resigned because the airline industry offered more perks and less stress.

Mrs. Lyles husband, Lorne, a police officer, received a phone call that morning. She was surprisingly calm, he said, considering the screaming he heard in the background.

"Just hearing my wife saying she loved us through all that chaos on that plane is just embedded in my heart forever," he said.

Mrs. Lyles' son Jerome Smith is 16 years old. "Everything that happened, the tragedy, was for a cause," he said.

---

Donald A. Peterson
66 years old


Jean Hoadley Peterson
55 years old
Spring Lake, NJ

The following is excerpted from The Chicago Tribune.

They weren't supposed to be on United Flight 93, but they got to the Newark airport early, and their original flight was late and crowded.

So Donald and Jean Peterson, planning to fly to San Francisco for an annual family trip to Yosemite National Park, grabbed seats 14A and 14C on Flight 93. They died when their plane crashed into the rolling hills of Pennsylvania.

"He was coming to see me in a few weeks, which is heartbreaking," said David Peterson, Donald Peterson's eldest son, who lives in Hawaii and hadn't seen his father in a year.

More than 1,000 people came to a service for the couple.

Donald Peterson, 66, former head of Continental Electric in New Jersey and a former member of the New Jersey Board of Education, had started working as a Christian missionary about 10 years ago with his wife. Jean Peterson, 55, had just held her first grandchild, one of her three daughters said.

David Peterson and family members of other Flight 93 victims traveled to the crash site. He stared at the scorched trees for what he thought was five minutes.

He was told he stood there for an hour.

---

Mark "Mickey" D. Rothenberg
52 years old
Scotch Plains, NJ


Mr. Rothenberg was the owner of MDR Global Resources.

He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Meredith, his daughters, Rachel, age 27, and Sara, age 22, and his mother, Dorothy.
Tribute page for Mark Rothenberg on AmericanLegacy.com.
http://legacy.com/LegacyTribute/Sept11.asp?Page=TributeGuestBook&PersonID=91583

---

Christine Snyder
32 years old
Kailua, HA

Christine was an arborist for an environmental organization called The Outdoor Circle. She grew up in Hawaii and had never been to the East Coast until this trip.

"She had been to a lot of fun places and told me she had a lot of pictures she couldn't wait to show me," said Ian Pescaia, Christine's husband of three months.

"She was in love with life," Mr. Pescaia said. "She didn't have a bitter spot in her."

The following was sent to us by Christine Snyder's mother-in-law, Ian Pescaia's mother, Leslie Adams:


Ian and Chris attended the same high school, Kalaheo High School here in Kailua, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii ... The Outdoor Circle, where Chris was Project Manager, is an environmental awareness group that has been instrumental in keeping Hawaii clean and green. Chris was also one of the very few women Certified Arborists in the United States, and had just left a tree conference -- and so trees are being planted in her memory throughout the US.
There is a Milo tree planted in her memory here at Magic Island, in the Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, along with a Memorial Bench erected in her memory by the Mayor's Office. The site where the tree and bench reside looks out over the ocean and is in absolutely a beautiful spot; Chris loved Hawaii, our beautiful environment and was passionate about keeping our "aina" (the land) precious and sacred.

Ian and Chris were not only beloved husband and wife, they were soul mates. Chris was such a presence of LIGHT wherever she went that everyone she knew always remembered her even after one introduction -- and she is missed terribly. We found that reading about this plane load of very special, very brave people -- about every single one of them, brought us closer to Chris and helped us heal a bit more.

For more about Christine, see this tribute page created by one of her friends.
http://www.geocities.com/rememberchristine/

---

John Talignani
74 years old
Staten Island, NY

Mr. Talignani was flying to San Francisco to claim the body of his son-in-law, Alan Zykofsky, who was killed in a car crash on his honeymoon.

He was a cook, a pizzeria owner, and later a bartender at Manhattan's Palm Too Restaurant, where he worked for 20 years.

His wife of 25 years, Selma, died four years ago. He treated her three sons as his own.

The following is excerpted from an article in the New York Daily News:


Sgt. Mitchell Zykofsky might easily surrender to despair. But he won't.
Somehow he copes with an avalanche of grief.

"Everything's different now," said Zykofsky, 43, a detective in Manhattan's 13th Precinct. "Day-to-day life has changed. In a lot of ways, you become more appreciative of more ordinary things, like waking up in the morning: 'Made it another day.'"

Zykofsky's season of mourning began Sept. 6. While honeymooning in California, his younger brother Alan died in a head-on crash with a truck.

At age 40, stockbroker Alan Zykofsky had found the right woman, a teacher from Hong Kong he met over the Internet. "I never saw him so happy," said the sergeant. "He would just stare at his wedding ring."

His bride, Valerie, survived the crash, but her knees were crushed, her chin and shoulder broken.

Sgt. Zykofsky and his wife, Shari, flew out West on Sept.10 to collect his brother's body in Visalia, Calif., and help his injured sister-in-law.

The next morning, Zykofsky's 74-year-old stepfather, John Talignani, took off for California, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93. That was the hijacked jet that crashed in a field in western Pennsylvania after a passenger revolt.

"Once we found out that they had fought on that plane, it helped us cope," said Shari Zykofsky. "Mitch said John could have just died an obscure old man. At least this way, he died a hero."

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Honor Elizabeth Wainio
27 years old
Watchung, NJ

Honor Elizabeth Wainio was a district manager for the Discovery Channel stores.

Elizabeth's stepmother in Baltimore reportedly received a call from Elizabeth on a phone lent to her by Lauren Grandcolas and told her, "I've got to go now, Mom, they're breaking into the cockpit."

The following obituary by Gail Gibson was published by The Baltimore Sun:

Born in Baltimore, Honor Elizabeth Wainio grew up in Catonsville and went to college in Towson. A district manager in New Jersey for the Discovery Channel's retail stores, she was traveling on Flight 93 Tuesday morning from Newark for a meeting in San Francisco.

Ms. Wainio, who lived in Watchung, N.J., was 27.

A 1991 graduate of Catonsville High School, she earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Towson University in 1995. She had worked in retail stores during college and had developed a great interest in what it took to make a store successful, said her stepmother, Esther Heymann of Catonsville.

Ms. Wainio, who helped oversee the 1999 opening of the Discovery Channel Store at Harborplace in Baltimore, truly had a deep joy of living -- "joie de vivre," her stepmother said.

"She was just one of the most enthusiastic people," Ms. Heymann said. "She treasured and cherished her friends."

Besides her stepmother, Ms. Wainio is survived by her father, Ben Wainio of Catonsville, and her mother, Mary White of Port St. Lucie, Fla., a brother and a sister.

On Sunday, Ms. Wainio had returned from a two-week trip to Europe, where she had attended the wedding of longtime friends in Florence, Italy, and visited another friend in Paris. Ms. Wainio had told Ms. Heymann the trip was fabulous.

"She said, 'After Paris, what else could there be?'"

A childhood friend of Elizabeth's, Charles McElhose Jr., has created a special tribute to her and the other heroes of Flight 93 -- "Elizabeth's 'Honor' flag." Charles writes:


"It is a Gadsden with a blue field depicting a large star representing the life we will remember, 27 stars for each year of her life, and her first name, Honor. The flag will mean all the things the Gadsden flag meant (our unity, strength, and resolve) and shows both specific memory of my lost friend with the additional message of our acknowledgement of the honor that all of the passengers on her plane showed.
"I would be honored it you would use it on your site and offer it to people to use for the intended purpose of printing it out for display in their cars, windows, etc. to show their memory of my friend and the people on that flight, and that they stood up in the face of terror and brought it down."

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Deborah "Debbie" Anne Jacobs Welsh
49 years old
New York, NY

Debbie Welsh was one of the flight attendants.

Her sister Eileen wrote in with this message:


Debbie was my big sister and always there to listen, give support, encouragement, and love. She and I had so much fun together and laughed at the silliest things! Losing her is like losing a part of myself; I feel such a void and I miss her so much that, sometimes, the pain is unbearable. She loved life and really enjoyed people, which is why she loved her job and was so good at it. Debbie was the Pursor on Flight 93, which means she worked in first class and had access to the cockpit, so the terrorists had to get to her first. We don't know what happened to Debbie on that flight; she had a cell phone but didn't call. Maybe she wasn't able to. But perhaps, being as professional as she was, she was just doing her job and kept the passengers as calm and comfortable as she could. God Bless you, Debbie, I love you.
Mike Hayes visited UnitedHeroes.com and wrote in on September 11, 2002:


Debbie was a parishioner in my church who I had the pleasure to know. Her husband, Patrick served with me on the Parish Council and Debbie's beeming smile was always easy to see in our choir.
I know Debbie was probably one of the first people to be killed, or at the very least, attacked, since she was working in first class that day. She gave her life for her passengers, and while she was alive she gave her life to others. She always helped the homeless, the underprivileged, and even had a love for animals. She not only gave food to the homeless but also offered sound advice.

"You know, you'll make more money if you stand on the next corner," she told one homeless man, as she gave him a meal. The next time he saw her, he thanked her. She had doubled his daily revenue.

That's the way Debbie was. Always willing to help. She always had a joke, a big smile, and time to encourage others. Although it's been one year since Debbie died, I can still vividly see her, sitting in my choir, singing louder and more elegantly than anyone else. She's my hero now. As a good catholic should, I pray to saints and martyrs. Today, I'll pray to St. Debbie and I know that God'll have a laugh or two when she presents my needs to him on my behalf.

Just like she always did during her life, even in those final moments.

Mike Hayes
Associate Director
Paulist Young Adult Ministries
(212) 265 3209 x205

Another visitor to UnitedHeroes.com wrote in to say:


[Debbie] is the wife of a friend of my fiance -- I'd only met her a few times, but that was enough to know that she seemed to have an incredible zest for life. Debbie's smile is her most beautiful feature, and I can imagine that her smile must have comforted all of the other people on her flight. She and her husband Patrick seemed to be so right together, and I'm so sorry for his loss. I know that her loss will leave an empty place in many hearts.
This message about her was found on AmericanMemorials.com:


Debbie and I were classmates at Notre Dame, Moylan, Class of 70. She was very outgoing and had a great sense of humor. I am sure that she was a great source of comfort to the passengers during their ordeal and most likely had a significant role in thwarting the hijackers from reaching their ultimate destination. -Pat Murray

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Kristin Gould White
65 years old
New York, NY

A freelance medical journalist.

The following is excerpted from The Chicago Tribune.

Kristin White had sailed down the Nile, seen the ruins of Sicily and visited Turkey. She spoke Latin and ancient Greek. White, a 65-year-old widow, planned to visit San Francisco to visit friends and wine country. For 40 years, White, a freelance medical journalist, had lived in the same brownstone apartment in New York City. For almost three years, she had been researching early contributors to medicine and science from Ivy League schools. "She was a sponge," said her only daughter, Allison Vadhan. "She could tell you everything about current events, ancient history. She was the most intellectual person I ever knew."

On the morning of Sept. 11, Vadhan was driving to work when she noticed smoke coming from one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. She pulled over and saw the second plane fly into the second tower. She rushed home. Then Vadhan started wondering about her mother. Was she flying Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Vadhan dialed into the Internet and checked the itinerary her mother had sent her on electronic mail. She saw "Flight 93" on the e-mail at the same time the flight number and the crash flashed across her TV screen.

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Matthew 25:21

"His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

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Flight 93
http://www.flt93memorial.org/cfms/in_memory_of.cfm
This web site is dedicated in the memory of the heros that were lost on
United Airlines Flight 93, September 11th, 2001.

[snippy_about_it]

Great picture of the Omaha crew after capture of the Odenwald.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the post and link.