Community Corner
Remembering 9/11: The Heroes of Flight 93
Monte Sereno resident Ellen Pifer is a native New Yorker who was living in Philadelphia on 9/11. She created a website along with others to honor the passengers of Flight 93 to help her and their loved ones cope with the tragedy.
Editor's note: On Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, we'll observe the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia. The following article is one of several pieces of content we'll run on Los Gatos Patch to honor those who lost their lives during the tragedy and acknowledge the impact of such a horrendous event on the minds, hearts and spirits of our local residents.
"I had trouble sleeping after 9/11 and ended up working on this site," Monte Sereno resident Ellen S. Pifer said in an email to Los Gatos Patch.
The website, which contains the names and information about 40 passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, is found at unitedheroes.com/whotheywere.html.
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"To The Heroes of Flight 93, Thank You," the site's home page states in red letters below an American flag and a black silhouette of Lady Liberty.
The website features the late Los Gatos residents, Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham, who perished during the flight, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, PA. Both graduated from
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"On Sept. 11, 2001, the world witnessed one of the most horrific criminal acts in human history," the site says.
"We lost many great people that day, and many people exhibited great heroism. This memorial is devoted specifically to the heroes of United Flight 93, who courageously took control of their destiny and stopped the terrorists from using their plane as another weapon."
To remember the 40 individuals and what they did for the United States, 9,182 people signed a thank-you card on the site. The signing is now closed, but the website remains online as a lasting tribute.
Flight 93 was one of four flights hijacked by al-Qaeda suicide terrorists who planned to crash the jets into important American landmarks, such as Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. Hijackers had redirected the fourth plane toward Washington, D.C., targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House, but crashed it in a field near Shanksville, PA, after passengers took control of the plane.
Pifer declined to be interviewed for this piece but provided this information after
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