My cousin and her husband worked in the Trade Center, and I am not sharing her story. I still, even after all these years, know just bits and pieces of her story. She was pregnant with her twins. She & her husband survived. It's difficult for her to talk about it, and she shares very little of it.
My high school friend, Kristen Frederickson, was living in New York also in 2001. She and her family now live in London. Kristen has a fabulous blog in which I follow. Recently she posted two wonderfully written post on what they experienced on that date. With her permission, I am sharing her story.
Kristen in London~ What Happen to Us
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| Avery Curran |
Kristen In London~ Recovery
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| Avery Curran |
ps.. i love you kristen. you are remarkable. thank you for sharing your story.
2 comments:
Hope you are well Janis! I'm sure you are busy with the new school year... we are thinkin bout ya in crumble town! Drop in and say hello!
Janis,
Thanks for sharing Kristen's story. I knew four people who died that day. Two were parents of a former Navy squadronmate/good friend who were on AA 77 which crashed into the Pentagon. My friend's father was a retired Admiral in the Reserves, having flown F-8 Crusaders in the 60's and 70's. The third was the co-pilot in AA 11, first to hit the Towers. We were F-14 pilots together in the Navy in the late 80's before he left the service to fly airliners. He wanted to be home more with his family. It is believed he was killed when the hijackers took control of the cockpit. The fourth was a passenger in UA 175, the second to hit the Towers. He also flew in F-14s as a Radar Intercept Officer. He was able to phone his parents, and was also able to phone and leave a goodbye message to his wife. His wife's account of the message: "He was calm and said, `I'm on the plane, it's been hijacked and it doesn't look good. But I want you to know how much I love you and my family.' He said to live a long life and be happy. And he said he'd see me again soon. Then he said he had to go."
I can't say I ever specifically thought of the Flaggs, or Stout McGuiness, or Moose Sweeney when I was later in the skies over Afghanistan--but I know I thought about what our nation had suffered. And I sit here today in my comfortable living room watching college football pregame shows, and am reminded of the deep sense of personal satisfaction I felt (and still feel) to have been a small part of the effort to make our shores and skies safer once again. And though it may be a sin, I am glad I was part of the effort to exact some measure of retribution on those...(expletive deleted)... enemies who did us great harm that day. I would do it again. Gladly.
Kristen's account is a reminder of what we all lost that day, but also demonstrates some key understanding we all gained about the world.
Thanks for sharing her great story.
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