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Jul 4, 2008 1:46 pm US/Central
Memorial To 9/11 Airline Employees Dedicated
GRAPEVINE (CBS 11 News / AP) ―
What started as a vision soon turned to molten metal and sparks. Now, two years later, a sculpture honoring the fallen flight crews of September 11 is a dream come true.
The sculpture stands 18 feet tall and bares the likeness of two pilots, two flight attendants, a child and two eagles which symbolize the loss of planes by American Airlines and United Airlines.
More than 500 people came to Grapevine on Friday morning, July 4, as the statue was officially dedicated. Guests, many of them relatives of the fallen flight crew members, listened to bagpipes and patriotic songs, speeches about heroism and prayers during the ceremony.
"This is to our heroes," said American Airlines flight attendant Shirley Hall. "First taken, last remembered and now honored."
In all, 33 crew members were killed when terrorists hijacked and crashed two American Airlines flights and two United Airlines flights on September 11, 2001.
American Airlines flight attendant Valerie Thompson, one of the memorial's organizers, said the project was designed to honor crew members whose efforts to stop the hijackers and alert authorities she believes have been mostly overlooked.
"We don't necessarily think of flight crews as first responders and they were really the very first responders in uniform that day to die in the line of duty," said Thompson, founder of the 9-11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, which spearheaded the $1 million public monument and plaza project.
There are several memorials honoring firefighters and police officers who lost their lives on September 11, but this flight crew memorial is the first of its kind, honoring the the airline pilots and flight attendants who also died that day.
"I think it's long overdue," said American Airlines flight attendant Roasheen Huffman. "When I was working in New York and I was driving to and from work, I would pass funeral processions and I would wonder, why isn't anyone remembering the flight attendants?"
"I think a lot of people have forgotten," said American Airlines pilot Jennifer Ewald. "It happened a few years ago and people have moved on with their lives, but it's something we need to remember everyday."
Ruth Fangman came from Delaware to be at the dedication. She lost her son, Bobby Fangman, when the second plane hit the Twin Towers. He was a flight attendant on United 175. "Even though he was only there a short time, he loved every minute of it," Fangman said of her son. "My comfort is knowing that he died doing what he loved."
To people like Fangman, the Grapevine memorial is more than just brick, metal and names on a plaque. It is something to remember heroes once forgotten.
Shirley Hall, vice president of the 9-11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, spoke of the memorial's symbolism, saying it represents the valor, dedication and commitment flight crews demonstrate each day. She told the audience to remember that "the site is on sacred ground".
"Walk quietly, speak softly, pray if you will, cry if you must, but always look to the skies," Hall said. "To our heroes: first taken, last remembered, now honored."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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