Under a cloudless, perfect September sky, United Airlines employees gathered in Arlington Heights to remember a similar day that devolved into one of the darkest moments in U.S. history.
United Airlines’ Michielle Sego-Johnson, left, Allan Twigg, center, and John Slater read the names of crew members who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Courtesy United Airlines
“Commemoration events are often difficult emotionally … but today’s crowd, including our special guests, proves we are stronger when we are together, and we will never forget the lives lost on 9/11,” United Vice President of Network Operations Capt. Joe Heins said Wednesday.
Twenty-three years ago, Heins was driving to his job training pilots when he learned terrorists had steered American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175 into the World Trade Center towers.
“I had not previously imagined that commercial airplanes would be used as weapons in the worst attack in the United States’ history,” Heins said at the airline’s Network Operations Center in Arlington Heights.
A Color Guard with Arlington Heights firefighters and police officers joined United Airlines on Wednesday to commemorate the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Courtesy United Airlines
Later that morning, American Flight 77 hit the Pentagon but United Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field as passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers.
Heins’ friend, Jason Dahl, was captain of Flight 93.
“It’s hard to imagine what happened on his airplane that day. It was very, very tough to see his family,” Heins said.
United workers listened with somber faces as the names of crew members and other employees who perished were read aloud, and took photos of a monument with a memorial plaque embedded in a granite boulder dedicated Wednesday.
“In the days immediately following 9/11, commercial flights were grounded,” Heins recalled. “Everything seemed incredibly uncertain for the future of our nation. However, in the face of adversity, we emerged from this tragedy stronger with better security.”
But, “the threat (of violence) still exists today, and the world can be a dangerous place. We must never rest on our laurels.”
United Airlines commemorated 9/11 with a plaque embedded in a Beautiful Gunmetal Granite boulder Wednesday in Arlington Heights.
Courtesy United Airlines
Heins recollected a seismic shift in aviation with the creation of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration after 9/11. Reinforced cockpit doors were instituted along with advanced baggage screening and explosive detection systems.
“Gone were the days when you could enter an airport and be at the gate in 20 minutes,” he noted.
Also marking the occasion were state Reps. Mary Beth Canty and Nicolle Grasse of Arlington Heights, Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes, and a Color Guard comprised of Arlington Heights police officers and firefighters.
“I’m always reminded of 9/11 on beautiful fall days,” Hayes recalled.
Sept. 11, 2001, had “the deepest blue sky I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s ironic how something so evil could happen on such a beautiful day, but as tragic as that evil day was, we are comforted by the fact that out of darkness comes light.”
United Airlines Vice President of Network Operations Capt. Joe Heins speaks Wednesday during a ceremony in Arlington Heights honoring the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Courtesy United Airlines