Bill O’Boyle

Beyond the Byline: Of ‘bravery, courage and selflessness’

WILKES-BARRE — Recently I drove by what used to be “Windsor Park,” once a beautiful tribute to the fallen heroes of 9/11.

As we observe the solemn 21st anniversary of that American tragedy today, I also remember my late friend and mentor, Dr. Tony Mussari.

Tony and his wife, Kitch, had transformed much of their property on Windsor Drive in Dallas into “Windsor Park” — a walking trail of greenery, ponds, benches and tributes.

One of the tributes was to the memory of the 40 passengers of Flight 93.

Called “Angel Garden,” it contained markers and names of all the passengers and crew members, a Flight 93 flag and a rock for every life lost at all sites on 9/11.

It was a labor of love and deep respect for the victims, their families and friends.

A weather vane near the top of the garden pointed due west towards Shanksville.

It’s all gone now. Kitch sold the house after Tony passed.

Tony always said the actions of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, were “so symbolic of what America is on its best day.”

“It was quintessential America,” Mussari once told me.

“Shanksville is always somewhat forgotten in the discussions of 9/11,” Mussari believed. “The 40 people on that airplane prevented it from hitting the Capitol when both houses of Congress were in session. Their act of courage and heroism ranks among the highest and purest forms of heroism and courage in our history.”

I remember our conversation clearly. As Mussari leaned back and tried to put himself on the hijacked plane, his passionate words came flowing out.

“Think about it. You know this plane is destined to crash and you are traveling in the last part of this journey,” he said. “You’re going about 565 miles per hour and you’re at the level where cell towers pick up cell phone calls and you have the kind of courage and determination to try to take over control of the aircraft.”

The Mussaris dedicated many years to remembering Shanksville and the victims of Flight 93. Each year they produced an anniversary — some 22 documentary films on Shanksville and Flight 93.

“Once you’ve been there and you meet the people who are trying to keep the memories of those 40 victims alive, you feel much closer to them and the tragedy of Flight 93,” Kitch told me. “You soon realize that 9/11 is much more than ground zero.”

That’s not to disparage anyone, the Mussaris quickly noted. They always honored and respected every victim of 9/11 and their families. And they always paid tribute to all first responders who displayed countless acts of heroism on 9/11.

But they always felt that too often Shanksville was not held in the same regard as the other events of 9/11.

Tony once told me that when he first visited the site of the crash — and on every other occasion he and Kitch had been there — the experience was the same. People coming to see where the plane carrying the “40 angels of freedom” came down. Tony said the experience was so compelling, nearly every visitor wanted to leave some part of themselves behind to pay tribute to the victims.

“In driving rainstorms, the people came,” he said. “In winter when the ground was covered with 6 inches of snow and in blistering heat, people came and left things. There is this connection with these brave Americans whose names nobody knew, but did what Americans do in their finest hour.

“We must never permit ourselves to forget not only the act of courage, but the values of the people who were both on the plane and the people of Shanksville.”

Mussari told me that he felt the selfless, heroic acts of those 40 people put themselves in harm’s way to avoid a tragedy of even larger proportion.

“They made their last moments the most meaningful of service that makes us all proud to be Americans,” he said.

Mussari, who passed away on Oct. 18, 2017, always wanted the story about Shanksville and Flight 93 and those passengers exemplifies not only that we must never forget 9/11, but that on that tragic day, America showed its courage and resiliency.

And we must also remember the national unity that came after 9/11 and that must continue today.

We must never forget. We must remember we are all in this together. And we must work together for our country and ourselves.

We must again be “quintessential America,” like my friend Tony Mussari said.

Take time to pause and remember all that was lost on 9/11.

And remember the bravery, the courage, the selflessness.

And God bless America.