The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, September 15, 2011 in the Letters section on page 3. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit.
Never Forget
I would like to recognize the pilots and Flight Attendants who lost their lives on 9/11. I’m taking nothing away from the fire and police departments. They are heroes and they died doing the jobs they loved.
As Flight Attendants, we had been trained to comply with all demands of terrorists and hijackers to keep everyone calm. This has all changed since 9/11. Our workplace was used by terrorists as a weapon on mass destruction. Our jobs have been completely redefined; they will never be the same.
Flight Attendants and pilots were the very first to be killed and the first to actually give details to authorities regarding actual facts of what was going on in the planes. They gave vital information to dispatch about the number of men, what they were being told, and how serious this was.
Flight Attendants were killed guarding the cockpit; trying to protect the passengers and get the plane down safely. Two of United’s flight attendants were on the phone with our dispatch giving them details of where they were and what was going on. Never dreaming that in seconds they would be plunged into the second tower of the World Trade Center.
Our hearts go out to all who lost family and friends that horrible day. We will never forget.
Cindee Topar
Association of Flight Attendant
Government Affairs Chairperson
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed