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One Story from 9/11
Imani never got the chance to say goodbye to her mother, Dora Menchaca. She was killed when American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. That first awful month, Imani would hug Menchaca in her sleep, knowing her mother was going to die. She was haunted by what she’d never know about what happened on that plane, one of four hijacked by terrorists in last year’s attack. Over and over, Imani would dream that her mother was about to tell her, only to lose the answer when she opened her eyes.
A year later, the 19-year-old accepts that her mother will never tell her those secrets.
Much has been written about that day, some of it moving, and unfortunately, some of it nonsense by conspiracy theorists. Imani was one of many who lost a parent. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters all lost in a single day. Heroism and evil met that day. Loss and memory were what was left to the survivors and the families that were left behind.
May they all rest in peace, may their families find peace. May the survivors see the faces of those they lost in the faces of their children, and in their grandchildren.
Published in History
Well said.
Cross posting to another story from @judgemental … “Witness”
Thank you so much. I was very moved when the American Flag was lowered over the side of the Pentagon this morning.
Dora and her husband Earl were my next door neighbors for eight years. Dora wasn’t supposed to be on that flight; she came home a day early because Imani was starting kindergarten at Grant Elementary and she didn’t want to miss it.
Imani was her daughter, and playing soccer for the University of Portland. Her son was starting kindergarten. Two of the priests from UP drove Imani back home to Southern California due to the fact that the United States became a no-fly zone.
Her story is especially poignant for me because the University of Portland is my alma mater.