Unplanned Heroism
It is Friday, September 14, 2001, A National Day of Prayer and
Remembrance. I have wanted to write since the first day of this
horrific tragedy, but I have been at a loss for words. I don't
know
whether I didn't have the words to describe such a horrible and
devastating incident. Or like many others, I just couldn't believe
this
happened and kept thinking we would wake up and find out this would
be
declared a nightmare.
I have been in front of my television since this event began.
I have
been unable to turn away. As much as I was horrified, I couldn't
stop
watching, I was afraid of what would happen next.
On Tuesday morning, Matt Lauer was interviewing Alice Hoglan, the mother
of Mark Bingham. Mark was a passenger on United Airlines Flight
93 that
crashed outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. He was able to make a telephone
call
to his mother and aunt prior to the crash. He told them he loved
them
and he was calling because some people with a bomb hijacked the plane.
He said they were going to try and do something to foil the hijackers.
Apparently Mark, Thomas Burnett and Jeremy Glick were planning to
overpower the hijackers. During a phone call to his wife, Thomas
Burnett said, "I know we're all going to die - there's three of us
who
are going to do something about it."
Through Alice Hoglan's grief, you could see pride. She expressed
over
and over again how proud she was of him and she hoped that her son
was
able to somehow thwart the efforts of the terrorists and to actually
divert further tragedy from happening. This woman has suffered
a
horrendous loss and yet, she was proud of the fact that her son may
have
sacrificed his life to save others. I am not sure I have ever
witnessed
this type of emotions from another and my life will never be the same.
It truly brings home the truth that one person can make a difference.
As I sit and watch this woman, my eyes are flooded with tears.
I cry
along with her for she has lost the most precious gift we receive as
Mothers, the gift of a child. Yet she is filled with such pride
that
her son may have given his life to save the lives of many others. Since
this plane, its crew of 7 and 38 passengers never hit its target, we
can
only speculate where it was headed. But we can be grateful that
these
people may have saved many more lives by their heroism.
None of us will be the same after Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
I hope I
never forget what I saw on the face of Alice Hoglan and heard in her
voice. This horrendous event has left very few of us untouched.
Not
only have we witnessed absolute horror, we have seen untold accounts
of
true bravery. The unselfish acts of Mark Bingham and others will
live
long in my memory and my heart.
May God bless us all.
© Cheri Lee Funk 2001
=================================================
Cheri lives in Southport, NC where she is still trying to figure out
what
she wants
to be when she grows up. She enjoys the ocean and producing a
group of
online
e-zines called HeartTalk. Email her at cheri@ec.rr.com
or visit
http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/HeartTalk/