Honor the American Heroes in the Sky

Re “ ‘We’re Going to Rush the Hijackers,’ ” Sept. 13: As I lie awake grieving for each and every precious life lost in the attacks on Sept. 11, my mind keeps returning to the passengers on the plane over Pennsylvania. Faced with the ultimate terror of the moment, they chose to vote about how to respond. Standing by the very democratic principles that were under attack, they apparently chose to fight. Countless others’ lives were surely saved by their actions. I thank them for being not just heroes, but Americans.

Michele Ader

Studio City

*

I firmly believe this is the beginning of the end for hijackers. No one can ever trust that hijackers will just let us go after getting their demands met. I promise to immediately fight at the onset of a hijacking myself, and I imagine I am not alone in this thinking today.

Tom Graner

Hermosa Beach

*

Tuesday morning, several average Americans, facing death, had the courage and presence of mind to place calls notifying their families and authorities of imminent disaster. They are the first heroes of this tragic event and must be so remembered. Let us join together in petitioning the White House and Congress to recognize these cell-phone heroes.

Theresa G. Turk

Long Beach

*

A decade ago I was appalled at the consequences of the Gulf War. Over 100,000 innocent civilians, who never voted for Saddam Hussein, were killed by our bombs. Surely, I felt, there must have been a better way to deal with that crisis. I opposed that war from the start and told my friends I feared it would come back to haunt us.

A high-school buddy vanished on Sept. 11. He worked on the 92nd floor of the tower that was hit second but collapsed first. Nobody has heard from him. The aching in my heart is as indescribable as, I’m sure, was the aching in the hearts of the Iraqi survivors. News reports tell us that Osama bin Laden’s hatred for the United States began with that war. We now feel the depth of his rage, his madness. The haunting has begun.

Miguel Munoz

Los Angeles

*

I cried. I cried a lot on Sept. 11. I cried from the morning until the time I went to bed. I spent all that time watching humanity fade into the chasm of despair. I told my wife, “My soul hurts.” Innocent people I didn’t know died. For what? For what cause is so much greater than life that innocent people had to die? Why?

I will mourn for those who died: the people in the planes, in the towers, in the Pentagon, and for the firefighters and police officers who gave their lives to try to rescue those in need. I will mourn for those who lost their wives, husbands, fathers, children, grandparents and, especially, the mothers. Mothers are symbols of safety and comfort. I grieve for those who received phone calls from their loved ones for one last goodbye; for those who, given the choice of burning to death or jumping, jumped. As I write this, tears well up. They’re tears that mourn but also tears of hope. Hope and love can’t be conquered.

Michael Foxen

Canoga Park

*

A frequently voiced fear was, “Is there an attack planned for the West Coast?” As I watched the names of local victims ticker-tape across my television set, I considered the pain of each family. Then my heart voiced its sorrow: We were attacked; our residents were attacked, also. Southern California is personally involved in the grief of the nation.

Wendy R. Howlett

Carson