In Memory of CeeCee Lyles

CeeCee Lyles was 34 years old and from Fort Myers, FL. CeeCee worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines Flight 93.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked by four terrorists. Subsequent analysis of the flight recorders recovered from the crash site revealed how the actions taken by the passengers prevented the aircraft from reaching the hijackers' intended target.

Before Flight 93 nose-dived into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, CeeCee dialed home twice on a cell phone to tell her husband about the hijacking and of her love for him and their children. Calmly, she prayed to see her husband's face again, then beseeched God to forgive and welcome her home, along with everyone else on the plane.

In Memory of Thomas F. McGuinness, Jr.

Thomas McGuinness was 42 years old and from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Thomas, a former Navy fighter pilot was the co-pilot and first officer on American Airlines Flight 11.


The names of John A Ogonowski, Thomas F. McGuinness, Betty Ann Ong, and other 9/11 victims from American Airlines Flight 11, inscribed on bronze panel N-74 of the North Pool of the National September 11 Memorial

The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers

I think this review on Amazon sums up this book very well.

"A recommended read for any true story fanatic and anyone who would like an insiders perspective into the tragedy. It definately made me phone home and tell my family how much I love them, hitting home that anything could happen to any of us at any time."

Details:
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, fourteen thousand people were inside the World Trade Center just starting their workdays, but over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages. Of the millions of words written about this wrenching day, most were told from the outside looking in. New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn draw on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts to tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out.

Dwyer and Flynn have woven an epic and unforgettable account of the struggle, determination, and grace of the ordinary men and women who made 102 minutes count as never before.

9/11 Ordinary People: Extraordinary Heroes

This excellent new book relates the stories of many heroic people directly involved at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

The stories rendered here with stunning emotion and depth of feeling by retired Army Colonel Will Merrill Jr. will stand as vivid reminders of the deep sense of pain experienced by an entire nation. Interviews feature more than sixty heroic people directly involved with the events of that day, including Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Fire Commissioner of New York City, two Department Chiefs of the Port Authority Police Department and the Senior Deputy Chief of the New York City Police Department as well as ordinary people affected by the loss of human life.

Colonel Merrill evokes the spirit of the fallen as both a reminder that the threat of terrorism is still very real and to call attention to those still suffering from the effects of that horrific day. Many of those exposed to Ground Zero both on 9/11 as well as in the relief effort are experiencing severe health problems, including suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and it is paramount that the heroes of these events never be forgotten.

Full of heart wrenching tales of loss and awe inspiring moments of valor and bravery, Ordinary People: Extraordinary Heroes is a profoundly moving call to arms to make sure the events that occurred that day never happen again on American soil.

In Memory of Suzanne Rose Kondratenko

Suzanne Rose Kondratenko was 27 years old and from Chicago, Illinois. (Born: Grosse Pointe, Michigan). Suzanne worked as a management consultant for Keane Consulting Group.

Suzanne had traveled from Chicago to New York for a meeting in Aon's offices on September 11, 2001. She was in a meeting with six Aon insurance executives on the 92nd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

When the North Tower was hit by American Airlines Flight 11 at 8:46 am, no one in the meeting felt or heard anything in the windowless interior conference room until commotion and screaming outside interrupted their conversation. The group emerged to find people headed for the fire stairs. The air smelled like smoke. The south tower's ventilation system was sucking in smoky air from outside.

Suzanne and her colleagues had just 16½ minutes before United Airlines Flight 175 would tear through the 78th through 84th floors of their building.

According to survivors Suzanne Rose Kondratenko was last seen heading down the stairs from the 92nd floor of the South Tower.

In Memory of Rahma Salie and her unborn child

Rahma Salie was 28 years old and from Boston, Massachusetts. Rahma was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11. Rahma was 7 months pregnant, and traveling with her husband, Michael Theodoridis, 32.

She and her husband, and their unborn baby died on 9/11, when Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. They were Muslim

Rahma's mother, Haleema, said, "I would like everyone to know that she was a Muslim, she is a Muslim and we are victims too, of this tragic incident."

Video of 9/11 10th anniversary memorial at Ground Zero, NYC

In Memory of Jeanette Louise Lafond-Menichinoi

Jeanette Louise Lafond-Menichinoi was 49 years old and from New York, N.Y. Jeanette worked for Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc on the 94th floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center

Jeanette was also a serious part-time artist who was inspired by the view from her office high in the north tower. Jeanette took photographs of the view from her office, her mother says, and used them in her own landscape paintings.

"The clouds would come right up to her window, and sometimes there were rain clouds, and you could actually see the rainfall. And if you looked above the clouds, it was completely clear. And when the airplanes and helicopters passed by, you could actually see in the compartments." Dina LaFond.

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc offices spanned the entire impact zone, from floors 93 to 99. No one present in the offices at the time survived the attack, and the firm lost 295 employees and 63 contractors.

In Memory of the Hanson family

On September 11, 2001, Peter Hanson was traveling with his wife, Sue Kim Hanson, and their 2 year old daughter, Christine Lee Hanson, who had never flown on a plane before. The Hanson family were passengers on United Airlines Flight 175, where they were seated in Row 19, in seats C, D, and E.

At 9:00 am Peter Hanson made a phone call to his father:
"It's getting bad, Dad. A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and Mace. They said they have a bomb. It's getting very bad on the plane. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast....Oh my God... oh my God, oh my God."

At 9:03 am Flight 175 crashed into the southern facade of South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Christine Lee at two and a half was the youngest victim on 9/11, and she died in her parent's arms.

Recommended 9/11 Reading: We're Not Leaving

We're Not Leaving, 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Renewal is a compilation of powerful first person narratives told from the vantage point of World Trade Center disaster workers. Police officers, firefighters, construction workers, and other volunteers at the site.

While the effects of 9/11 on these everyday heroes and heroines are indelible, and in some cases have been devastating, at the heart of their deeply personal stories, their harrowing escapes from the falling Towers, the egregious environment they worked in for months, the alarming health effects they continue to deal with, is their witness to their personal strength and renewal in the ten years since.

These stories, shared by ordinary people who responded to disaster and devastation in extraordinary ways, remind us of America's strength and inspire us to recognize and ultimately believe in our shared values of courage, duty, patriotism, self-sacrifice, and devotion, which guide us in dark times.

In Memory of Molly L. McKenzie

Molly L. McKenzie was 38 years old and from Dale City, Va. Molly worked at the Pentagon as a civilian budget analyst for the Army. She had worked for the Army for 14 years.

At 9:37 am on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, killing 125 people working in the building.

Identifying 9/11 Victims 10 Years On

As of August 2011, 1,631 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks have been identified, while 1,122 (41%) of the victims remained unidentified. The remains are being held in storage in Memorial Park, outside the New York City Medical Examiner's facilities. It is expected that the remains will be moved in 2013 to a repository behind a wall at the 9/11 museum. As of July 2011, a team of scientists at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner continues to try to identify remains, in the hope that improved technology will allow them to identify other victims.

In this video David Common explains how new science is being used to help some families find closure.

In Memory of Samantha Martin Egan and Lisa Erin Egan

Samantha Martin Egan was 24 years old and from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Born: Brooklyn, New York).

Samantha was killed at the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks while working at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North Tower. She worked with her older sister, Lisa Erin Egan, 31.



According to The New York Times, their father, David, said he knew that the sisters were together after the plane hit.

Their father said: "They would have been seeking one another immediately. It would have been the first thing in their minds. 'Where is Samantha?' Lisa would have said. 'Where is Lisa?' Samantha would have thought. I know they are together."

The sisters share a memorial at Sea View Cemetery in Mount Sinai. A photograph of the pretty blond sisters, who were from Rocky Point, is displayed on their large headstone, and a poem by their father is written on a brass plaque.


A bench before the grave of the Egan sisters

In Memory of Patricia Ann Puma

Patricia Ann Puma was 33 years old and from Staten Island, New York. Patricia worked for Julien J. Studley Inc. on the 86th floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center.

On September 11, 2001, Patricia was in the same office as James Gartenberg on the 86th floor, well below the bottom of the impact zone on the 93th floor. In several conversations on the telephone, they said that access to the exits was blocked by the collapsed walls and debris. They were unable to escape.

Patricia Ann Puma said, "The wall in the ladies room started to crack, it looked like an earthquake. The noise and debris falling outside the building are frightening."

In Memory of Karen Sue Juday

Karen Sue Juday was 52 years old and from Brooklyn, New York. (Born: Bremen, Indiana). Karen worked as an administrative assistant for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center.

In Memory of James Francis Quinn

James Francis Quinn was 23 years old and from New York, N.Y. James worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower at the World Trade Center.

In Memory of Vanessa Lang Langer and her unborn child

Vanessa Lang Langer was 29 years old and from Yonkers, NY. (Born: Bronx, New York). Vanessa worked for Regus Plc on the 93rd floor in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

On September 11, 2001, Vanessa, who was four months pregnant, escaped from the South Tower. However, her quest for survival had fallen short. She ran as the South Tower collapsed. She did not make it. Her body, and in it the small body of her unborn child, was pulled from the rubble of the fallen tower on September 24th, just ten feet from an alley between Towers IV and V.

Vanessa's husband, Tim, fell into a spiral of alcohol abuse after the death of his wife and unborn child. He died of liver failure in 2005. He was 34.

In Memory of Deanna Lynn Galante and her unborn child

Deanna Lynn Galante was 32 years old and from Staten Island, N.Y. On September 11, 2001, Deanna was seven months pregnant with her first child and was scheduled to take maternity leave.

Deanna worked for Cantor Fitzgerald's eSpeed division as a personal assistant on the 106th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

9/11 Memorial has 500,000 Visitors

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum reached a milestone this week, with half a million visitors from more than 100 countries worldwide since its big opening just over two months ago.

In Memory of Jonathan Eric Briley

Jonathan Eric Briley 43 years old and from Mount Vernon, N.Y. Jonathan worked as an audio media specialist at Windows on the World on the 110th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.


Westchester County 9/11 Memorial in Valhalla, N.Y.

In Memory of Alicia Nicole Titus

Alicia Nicole Titus was 28 years old and from San Francisco, California. (Born: Springfield, Ohio). Alicia was a flight attendant for United Airlines Flight 175.

"Some Guinness was spilt on the barroom floor,
When the Pub was shut for the night.
Out of a hole crept a wee brown mouse,
And stood in the pale moonlight.

He lapped the frothy brew from the floor,
Then back on his haunches he sat.
And all night long you could hear him roar,
"Bring on the goddamn cat!"

by Alicia N. Titus



Alicia Titus Tribute on Youtube


Losing Alicia: A Father's Journey After 9/11 by John L. Titus
In Losing Alicia, readers not only witness a father's struggle over the murder of his young, vibrant and beautiful daughter, but they walk with him through his agonizing grief after one of the most horrific tragedies in history, September 11, 2001.

In Memory of Jennifer Yen Wong

Jennifer Yen Wong was 26 years old and from Whitestone, NY. Jennifer worked for Marsh & McLennan on the 96th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

In Memory of Kathy Nancy Mazza

Captain Kathy Nancy Mazza was 46 years old and from Farmingdale, New York.

Kathy was the first female commanding officer of the Port Authority Police Academy. On September 11, 2001, she joined her colleagues at the World Trade Center. There she shot open a glass panel wall after a revolving door became jammed with debris allowing hundreds to escape the horror that was unfolding inside the building. She was last seen with Lieutenant Robert D. Cirri as they were helping carry a woman down the stairs when the building collapsed.

In February 2002, Kathy and the four other Port Authority Police Officers were found in the rubble of the North Tower. Beside them was the body of the woman still strapped in a rescue chair.

For Remembrance Day 2011 - Melissa Harrington-Hughes 9 11 Telephone Message

We must never forget them

On September 11, 2001, Melissa Harrington-Hughes (31 years old), was in New York for one day to oversee her software firm's merger. Melissa was on the 101st floor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Melissa made a tearful call to her husband, Sean Hughes in San Francisco, but missed him as he was asleep. The full message she left said, "Sean it's me, I just wanted to let you know I love you and I'm stuck in this building in New York. A plane hit the building or a bomb went off, they don't know. But there's lots of smoke, and I just wanted you to know I love you always."

In Memory of Betsy Martinez

Betsy Martinez was 33 years old and from New York, N.Y. Betsy worked as an accounts manager for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

On September 11, 2001, Betsy was somewhere between the 101st and 105th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the northern facade of Tower. The aircraft, traveling at about 404 knots (465 mph; 748 km/h) and carrying about 10,000 U.S. gallons (38,000 L) of jet fuel, hit between the 93rd and 99th floors.

The damage caused to the North Tower destroyed any means of escape at the impact zone or above it. All stairwells and elevators from the 92nd floor up were rendered impassable, trapping 1,344 people.

Tribute to the Children who lost their lives on 9/11

This is a very emotional tribute video to 9/11's youngest victims. In all, eight children died that day. Five were passengers on American Airlines Flight 77 and three were on United Flight 175.

In Memory of Ruth Magdaline McCourt

Ruth Magdaline McCourt was 45 years old and from New London, Connecticut. (Born: Cork, Ireland). Ruth and her daughter Juliana Valentine McCourt (4 years old), were passengers on United Airlines Flight 175. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at 9:03am, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the southern facade of the South Tower of the World Trade Center impacting between the 77th and 85th floors.

In the cruellest of twists, Ruth's best friend and Juliana's godmother, Paige Farley-Hackel, had decided to go with them but ended up on a different flight. She was on American Airlines Flight 11, which had crashed into the North Tower minutes earlier.

In Memory of Colleen Ann Barkow

Colleen Ann Barkow was 26 years old and from East Windsor, New Jersey. Colleen worked as a facilities director for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

On September 17th, 2001, Colleen's parents received a call from The New York City Medical Examiner's Office to tell them some of Colleen's remains had been found. Their daughter had died of smoke inhalation.

Firemen found her three rings on her body. Her engagement ring, her wedding ring, and her anniversary ring that Danny Barkow had given her in advance of their first wedding anniversary.

"She was a beautiful young woman. She could have been a runway model. She always had a smile for everybody," her father said.

9/11 Victims Remains

An emotionally laden debate over the future resting place of thousands of unidentified remains of Sept. 11 victims is lingering as the attacks' 10th anniversary recedes, with several relatives saying they aren't satisfied with a recent city effort to spread the word about a plan to house the remains in the forthcoming 9/11 museum.

Under pressure from families who oppose the plan, the city outlined it in a letter sent last week to relatives of all the nearly 2,800 people killed at the World Trade Center. The letter came after 17 relatives sued the city to try to get addresses so they could poll the families themselves.

A judge rejected their request last week, but the city, which has maintained that the plans have long been known and families approved them, sent out the letters in hopes of resolving the matter.

"We know how profoundly significant and sensitive this matter is to victims' families," notes the letter from Dr. Charles Hirsch, the city's chief medical examiner, and Joe Daniels, the president of the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum, which counts some victims' relatives as board members.

At the other sites where hijacked planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, the placement of unidentified remains has been resolved. Those from the Pentagon, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed, were buried at Arlington National Cemetery on the first anniversary of the attacks. Three caskets of unidentified remains from the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in a field in Shanksville, Pa., were buried there this September.

To the trade center victims' relatives who sued, the letter doesn't settle their dispute, which reflects years of strife over the search for and handling of victims' remains.

Remains have never been identified for more than 1,100 people killed at the site. With the subterranean museum still under construction, about 9,000 pieces of unidentified remains are now in a weatherproof tent along the East River in Manhattan, near the medical examiners' office.

The current plan calls for moving them in 2013 to a private repository in the museum, according to the letter. The repository would be off limits to the public, behind a wall inscribed with a quote from the Roman poet Virgil: "No day shall erase you from the memory of time."

There would be a private viewing area for families, who wouldn't be charged the museum's potential $20 admission fee and would be allowed to visit after hours, the letter notes.

Regardless, the objecting families feel a museum is no place for their loved ones' remains. They bristle at the prospect of passing a gift shop and tourists on their way to pay respects 70 feet underground. They want the remains to be put in a separate space on the memorial plaza that opened this Sept. 11, seeing that as a more respectful treatment.

"I think that would bring some more reverence to it," says Jim Riches, a retired firefighter who lost his firefighter son Jimmy in the attack.

Riches and others who sued want to survey the full roster of trade center victims' families to gauge opinion, something the city's letter doesn't invite.

"The fact that a letter went out is positive, but it's not adequate because it ignores the most important part, from the (families') perspective, which is the input," said their lawyer, Norman Siegel. His clients are considering appealing the court's denial of their bid for access to the city's full list of 9/11 families' names and addresses, he said.

Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern said in an Oct. 25 ruling that turning over the list would invade the other families' privacy and that the city's letter "clearly and explicitly informs" them.

The families had said any privacy concerns could be allayed by giving the list only to a retired judge who could send out a survey to the 2,752 trade center victims' next of kin. But the city argued that state public records law would require releasing the list publicly if it were released at all, and that would subject families to unwelcome solicitations.

City lawyer Thaddeus Hackworth said officials were glad the court agreed that releasing the list would compromise the families' privacy.

"The mailing sent by the 9/11 Memorial and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner added to the abundance of information that families already had received regarding the plans," he added in a statement Tuesday.

Memorial officials had no immediate reaction.

Identifying, finding and determining a resting place for remains has been a fraught issue for some victims' families since the 2001 attacks.

After Hirsch stopped trying to make identifications in 2005, saying the effort had reached the limits of DNA technology, the discovery of human remains on a bank tower roof and in a manhole near ground zero a year later outraged families who said the search for their loved ones had been rushed initially. The findings prompted a renewed search that cost the city tens of millions of dollars and uncovered 1,500 pieces of remains.

Meanwhile, some victims' relatives sued the city over its decision to move 1.6 million tons of materials from the trade center site to a landfill, saying the material might contain victims' ashes and should have been given a proper burial. The city said it had searched the material diligently for remains, which the families' disputed. Federal judges sided with the city, and the case came to an end when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear it last year.

3000 Rose Petals

3000 Rose Petals by Magdalena Taber

"Living just around the corner from Boston's Logan International Airport, I am still being reminded of 911 by the airplanes flying low over my head. But it is another memory that prompted me to arrange and perform a touching tribute on the 10th anniversary of the event. From a distance, the images of people jumping out of the windows of the towers appeared so serene... 10 years later, I counted 3000 rose petals and along with other artists friends dispersed them into the ocean. The gentle breeze of a perfect September day carried the petals away, while the airplanes flew so close above us. Full of symbolism, an art video documenting the tribute is now available for sharing on Youtube. Each name of the victims is typed into a heart wrenching mosaic, yet it is not an image of defeat, but resilience and hope." Magdalena Taber.