U.A. Flight 93

Thank you stacylynn71 for the pretty blue ribbon!


U.A. Flight 93

They boarded as strangers on that clear September day
Unaware what lay ahead, lives thrown in disarray.
40 souls lined up in rows ranging from young to old
What qualities each one possessed would surely soon unfold.

At 8:01 with flight delayed they sat upon the tarmac
Unbeknownst to all aboard that we’d soon be attacked.
For 19 men with ill intent set out to harm our nation
Four planes they’d fly into landmarks, their goal: annihilation.

8:42 Flight 93 takes off into the sky
Not knowing that before day's end 2,819 would die.
8:46 Flight 11 collides with the north tower
In hopes that such destruction would surely cause us all to cower.

9:03 Flight 175 strikes the tower to the south
The horror in Manhattan quickly spreads by word of mouth.
And those aboard Flight 93 conversing via cell phone
Plotted their own destiny ... resolve solid as stone.

9:37 the Pentagon crumbles beneath Flight 77
The south tower falls at 9:59--614 more in Heaven.
They’d be damned, Flight 93. They’d never grant control.
Together they’d take back the plane with the battle cry, “Let’s roll!”

With strength and courage unlike any I have ever seen
These heroes would take back the day from the terrorists 19.
Now was the time for all to see, their qualities revealed
10:03 they crashed that plane into a Pennsylvania field.

I doubt that we will ever know how many lives they saved
Strangers giving of themselves--futures selflessly waived.
At 10:28 the north tower falls, 1,402 lose their lives
Daughters, sons, dads, moms, friends, husbands and wives.

Of those who died that fateful day we remember names
Of those aboard Flight 93 more than those on other planes.
They acted in a time of trial as we would like to act
Sacrificing their lives for strangers, their integrity intact.

These 40 have affected me, their bravery haunts my soul
I still think of Todd Beamer when I hear someone say, “Let’s roll!”
So as you go about your day end it on bended knee
And remember those who perished on U.A. Flight 93.

This poem is dedicated to all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and specifically to those courageous souls who perished in a Pennsylvania field aboard United Airlines Flight 93.

THE CREW:
•          Lorraine Bay
•          Sandra Bradshaw
•          Jason Dahl
•          Wanda Green
•          LeRoy Homer, Jr.
•          Cee Cee Lyles
•          Deborah Anne Jacobs Welsh
THE PASSENGERS:
•          Christian Adams
•          Todd Beamer
•          Alan Beaven
•          Mark Bingham
•          Deora Bodley
•          Marion Britton
•          Thomas E. Burnett Jr.
•          Willam Cashman
•          Georgine Rose Corrigan
•          Patricia Cushing
•          Joseph DeLuca
•          Patrick "Joe" Driscoll
•          Edward Porter Felt
•          Jane Folger
•          Colleen L. Fraser
•          Andrew Garcia
•          Jeremy Glick
•          Lauren Grandcolas
•          Donald F. Greene
•          Linda Gronlund
•          Richard Guadagno
•          Toshiya Kuge
•          Hilda Marcin
•          Waleska Martinez
•          Nicole Miller
•          Louis J. Nacke II
•          Donald Peterson
•          Jean Hoadley Peterson
•          Mark "Mickey" Rothenberg
•          Christine Snyder
•          John Talignani
•          Honor Elizabeth Wainio
•          Kristin Gould White

May God bless and keep you, and may He forever hold you in the palm of His hand.