Newark Gate A17 sign becomes part of Flight 93 Memorial

I was 9 years old, a kid at Laura Donovan Elementary School on Sept. 11, 2001.

Somehow my teacher, Mrs. Cotton, (mostly) kept it together, telling us only there had been a terrible accident in New York City. Bless her heart for it.

Still, there was a strangeness about the day and kids were being picked up early. On the bus ride home students were giving half-stories and rumors.

I didn’t fully realize what happened until my parents told me everything that afternoon.

In a small way, looking back on it, even parents like mine were a bit heroic in that they had to share news with us kids that adults were shaken to the core by and could barely process themselves.

I didn’t appreciate then how hard that must have been for them.

United 93

A true hero that day was Todd Beamer. He left Newark Liberty Airport through gate A17 and boarded flight 93.

Todd Beamer

He’s the one who said “Let’s roll” and led the passengers to take back the cockpit from terrorists.

The hijackers were forced to abandon their target, saving who knows how many other lives, and put the plane straight down into the ground in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing everyone on board.

Even all these years later the horror of trying to process what happened that day as a kid stays with me as an adult.

I barely got to see the world as a good place before finding out how evil it could be. So, I’m sorry if I seem cynical at times.

Now, there’s news from Newark Liberty International Airport that the old yellow sign that stood at Gate A17 that day is becoming part of the Flight 93 Memorial. It was preserved by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey when the old terminal closed two years ago.

"We're honored that the Gate 17 sign will now find a permanent home in the Flight 93 National Museum in Shanksville,” Aidan O’Donnell, general manager of New Jersey Airports at the Port Authority, said.

We're humbled to play even a small role in honoring the legacy of the 44 brave passengers and crew whose actions saved the lives of countless others.

The gate sign being forever preserved and displayed there is a good thing. Think about it. Can we remember past the horror of that day exactly where each flight started out?

This reminds us. This makes us remember and, because it was Newark, puts us a bit more in the shoes of people like Todd Beamer as his last day began.

It helps us remember.
The anniversary is next month. I can’t believe it will have been 24 years.

This is a good way to keep those we lost in our thoughts.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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