Tuesday, September 11 started off as a normal workday. I was scheduled to attend a training class and received a call from a friend asking if I was watching TV. I wasn’t, so I turned on the Today Show and stood there in disbelief trying to absorb what was being reported. Then I kicked into action. I was part of the American Airlines Care Team, so I followed procedures, called in and started packing my bag in case I was activated. By 5 PM I was boarding a flight from DFW to Boston, one of four planes flying that night escorted by F-16s with orders that if we deviate from our course, to shoot us down. It was eerily quiet taxiing around the airport at both DFW and BOS – no activity on the tarmac, no sounds of airplanes landing or taking off, onboard seats were filled with others like me unsure and unknowing how this activation would be so different from others.

We were housed at a nearby hotel and armed security was ever so present. I received my partner and family assignments – two passengers and one crewmember – I was focused. Hours of documentation, meetings, planning, little sleep, and sometimes just going with the flow filled the next weeks. Normally we would go to their homes, but this time the passenger families had to come to us, and strict ID policies were in place. One family didn’t want assistance and asked not to be bothered. We helped the second family with their requests and needs to the best of our abilities. Our crewmember – that was Madeline “Amy” Sweeney - we were allowed to travel to her home and meet with her husband and their two children, Anna and Jack. Over multiple days, we worked with Michael providing assistance, support and comfort. At the memorial service it was evident Amy’s role as a Flight Attendant was minor compared to being a wife, mother, daughter, aunt, niece, neighbor, best friend and colleague. She was loved and missed by many.

As facts were revealed, Amy wasn’t originally scheduled to fly that day, but I think God puts us where we are needed. Her husband’s job as a detective came into play when she used her knowledge that collecting crucial information was vital. What she and her fellow crewmember, Betty Ong, relayed to AA helped quickly identify the names of the hijackers. I think of Amy often – grateful for her actions that helped authorities understand what was happening, issue a ground stop and eventually an unprecedented shutdown of the U.S. airspace preventing other planned tragedies from being carried out.

Amy was just 35 years old when she became an American hero on September 11, 2001. Since 2002, the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery has been awarded to a Massachusetts resident who displayed extraordinary courage in defending or saving the lives of others.

When it was time to go home, I remember sitting in the gate area and a woman was knitting with two very large, pointed needles, and I thought how can those be allowed on a plane after what happened. I don’t remember how I got home from the airport, but I remember walking into my house, the calendar was still on September 11 - it was if time had stood still. During my time away I had to concentrate on my tasks and care for the families I’d been entrusted to help. My job was done, now my head was filled with thoughts -- is my company going to survive this, will I still have a job? I was on the local Selective Service Board, would war be declared and the board activated, would my sons ages 22 and 24 be entering the military and be deployed?

My dad worked for Continental Airlines and his plane was hijacked on August 3, 1961, so the 9/11 hijacking hit home in a different way. Something always changes in the airline industry after an incident and that was certainly true after 9/11 both for airline employees & crews and the public. Security procedures and crew training changes were extensive. As a Flight Service Manager, I made a simple change in my interactions. Prior to 9/11 flight attendant and cockpit crews were often referred to by their crew position - #1 or #4, captain etc., but after attending Amy’s service, I still noted their position, but I always added their name too. Remembering they aren’t just an employee number or flight crew position, they are so much more than a uniform to their families and friends.

The weekend before 9/11 I had an urge to get everything done – I worked at the office late to get caught up; I cleaned my house top to bottom, did laundry and yardwork, paid bills, and bought dog food. It was like having a premonition without knowing it. My work and home “to do” lists were complete – I was prepared to leave. That happened twice before, and both times, I was activated with the Care team. Not since 9/11 have I been that ready, I always leave something on those two lists that need doing.

I was at Ground Zero two months after the attack, I’ve visited the 9/11 Museum, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 Museum sitting or standing in silence, saying a prayer for the victims and their families; wondering what might have been. I can’t recall my partner’s name or all the details of that activation, maybe that’s mental self-preservation, but every year when it’s close to the 9/11 anniversary, I find tears come easily. Yes, the calendar has advanced 25 years, but occasionally it feels like 2001 and I’m overcome with sadness. It’s easy to say, but I will Never Forget and Always Remember.