9/11 Flight Crew Memorial unveiled July 4th in Grapevine, TX

Nearly 1,000 attendees from the aviation community, the City of Grapevine, and Flight Crew Memorial supporters joined with the surviving crewmember families and the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation members to pay tribute and honor the 33 fallen crewmembers of September 11, 2001.

MEC President Greg Davidowitch and LAX LEC President Darren Shiroma were in attendance to represent United Airlines Flight Attendants, and met with Lorne Lyles (husband of United Flight 93 Flight Attendant CeeCee Lyles) and Ruth Fangman (mother of United Flight 175 Flight Attendant Robert Fangman).

The ceremony began with a “missing man formation” flyover by the Texas Twisters, followed by the invocation by Don Bigbie (Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Chairman), and a Welcome & Recognition by Mayor William D. Tate (City of Grapevine).

The 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation President, Dean Thompson, and his wife, American Airlines Flight Attendant Valerie Thompson explained the significance and symbolism of the memorial (see below), and recognized those that made their vision and labor of love a reality. As Valerie viewed the memorial, she noted that "looking at the (full-size) memorial was like looking at one's child," in that following the memorial from an idea–all the way through to fruition with devotion and love–surpassed her highest expectations.

“Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” and “Proud To Be An American” were performed by Curtis Jones & Rocky Gribble of the Grapevine Opry, and the names of all 33 crewmembers were read aloud in the “Roll Call” portion of the ceremony.

The dedication ceremony was closed by the surviving family members and the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation members who cut the ceremonial yellow ribbon, dedicating the eternal monument.

The one-and-one-half life size monument is titled “Valor, Commitment, Dedication,” and honors the memories and sacrifice of the 33 flight crewmembers that served their passengers on that tragic day, and the first responder crewmembers from our profession that continue on.

We encourage you to visit the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation site, which is still raising funds to install and incorporate a water component to the memorial. You may also obtain more information on the location of the memorial if you are visiting the area or passing through.

• For more info, please visit: www.911FlightCrewMemorial.org

• Visit the 9/11 Families For America Site

• Video Clip: CBS 11 Dallas/Ft Worth - Unique Sept 11 Memorial Honors Flight Crews





All Photos - Copyright © July 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFA-CWA Council 12 Los Angeles.

Hundreds Drawn To 9-11 Memorial In Grapevine

By TERRY LEE GOODRICH | STAR TELEGRAM

[07.04.08] -- GRAPEVINE -- Family members of flight crews killed in 9-11 came from across the country Friday for the dedication of an 18-foot-tall sculpture dedicated to their loved ones.

Nearly 1,000 members of the public and community officials joined them for the ceremony marked by the release of doves, a flyover by World War II airplanes in missing-man formation and a roll call of flight crews who perished.

"These are our heroes," American Airlines flight attendant Valerie Thompson of Hurst told the crowd. She founded the 9-11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation six years ago to raise money for the $1 million memorial.

Five figures are sculpted in bronze -- a captain, a first officer, a female flight attendant, a male flight attendant and a little girl passenger. Many in the crowd wiped away tears as two Grapevine Opry members performed Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) and Proud to Be an American.

The sculpture, called "Valor Commitment Dedication," is west of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport at the southwest corner of Texan Trail and Northwest Highway. Its name was inspired by the traits of the 33 flight crew members who were among the nearly 3,000 people killed when terrorists hijacked and crashed four planes, Thompson said.

The memorial also is a tribute to "all of those that courageously continue to be the ever-vigilant professionals of the airline industry," said American Airlines flight attendant Shirley Hall of Bedford, foundation vice president.

Thirty-one relatives of the flight crew members attended, including Marty Fangman of Keller. His youngest brother, flight attendant Robert Fangman, was on United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to crash into the World Trade Center.

"I'm absolutely pleased and enthusiastic about the memorial," Marty Fangman said. Kristy Fangman, Marty Fangman's wife, called the statue beautiful and said she looks forward to having "something I will bring all the family to see."

The sculptor was Valerie Thompson's husband, Dean Thompson. He and volunteers based the art on a design by Utah artist Bryce Cameron Liston.

The sculpture includes an iron beam from the World Trade Center, limestone from the Pentagon and stone from Shanksville, Pa. More than $300,000 has been raised with the help of the city of Grapevine and donors.

"Some people were only able to contribute the change in their pockets, but they wanted to help," Dean Thompson said. "Believers made it happen."

Figures in the sculpture

■ An airline captain, one hand on a globe as a symbol of the responsibility of the worldwide airline industry
■ A first officer holding an emergency manual and pointing to the western horizon, the destination of the four 9-11 flights
■ A child, symbolic of the traveling public
■ A female flight attendant, holding out one hand in a precautionary gesture and holding the child's hand with her other
■ A male flight attendant, draping a blanket around the child
■ Two eagles in flight, representing lost flights from American and United airlines

How to give

Donations may be sent to 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, 507 Aviator Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76179. Also online: www.grapevinetexasusa.com/911flightcrewmemorial

Hundreds Gather In Texas For Sculpture Dedication Honoring Airline Employees Killed Sept. 11

By LINDA STEWART BALL | Associated Press

[07.05.08] -- GRAPEVINE, Texas -- On a pedestal in a Texas intersection hundreds of miles from where terrorists crashed planes seven years ago, two flight attendants and two pilots, rendered in bronze, now care for a traveling child. The sculpture was dedicated Friday, the Fourth of July, to honor the 33 airline crew members killed when terrorists hijacked and crashed two American Airlines flights and two United Airlines flights in the East on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hundreds of guests, many of them relatives of the fallen crew members, gathered in the north Texas heat in Grapevine to listen to bagpipes and patriotic songs, speeches about heroism, and prayers during the ceremony. Grapevine is home to many airline employees stationed at nearby Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and American Airlines is headquartered in Fort Worth.

American Airlines flight attendant Valerie Thompson, one of the memorial's organizers, said the project was designed to honor crew members whose efforts to stop the hijackers and alert authorities she believes have been mostly overlooked.

"We don't necessarily think of flight crews as first responders, and they were really the very first responders in uniform that day to die in the line of duty," said Thompson, founder of the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, which spearheaded the $1 million public monument and plaza project.

Thompson said the foundation raised about $300,000 of the cost in a grass-roots effort which consisted of numerous $1 and $5 donations. The city of Grapevine and a developer donated the land and labor for the project.

As he admired the sculpture, Marty Fangman, 59, of Keller, whose brother Bobby, 33, was a flight attendant on United Flight 175, praised the effort. "It was a long time coming, but they did an excellent job," Fangman said, adding that he hopes organizers are able to raise funds needed to add a water feature to complete the memorial.

Bobby Fangman's mother, Ruth Fangman, 81, of Claymont, Del., said the monument honoring the flight crews was needed. "This is such a special tribute, and I know that Bobby will be smiling down. He'd always tell me, 'Mom, get on a plane every day. Go someplace.' It's still the safest way to travel," she said.

Although the flight crews were based in Boston, Washington and New York, Thompson said it was fitting that the memorial be in Grapevine. "We felt the passion here as much as anybody else in the system," she said.

Her husband, Dean Thompson, who sculpted the work in an aircraft hangar, said the horrific events caused the airline community to come together "to form a brotherhood" much like those of firefighters and police.

Shirley Hall, vice president of the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, said the memorial symbolizes the valor, dedication and commitment that flight crews demonstrate each day. She told the audience to remember that "the site is on sacred ground."

"Walk quietly, speak softly, pray if you will, cry if you must, but always look to the skies," Hall said. "To our heroes: first taken, last remembered, now honored."

Flight Crew Memorial honors fallen crewmembers of September 11

[08.09.06] -- LEFT PHOTO -- (L-R) - Darren Shiroma (LEC President), Dean Thompson (9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation President), Brad Burlingame (brother of 'Chic' Burlingame, American Flight 77 Captain) at LAXSW for unveiling of the bronze maquette statue of the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial.
RIGHT PHOTO -- The 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial (mirror-images above) features two eagles poised in flight representing the two airlines. Two flight attendants and two flight officers are positioned back-to-back, indicative of teamwork. One flight attendant each will be uniformed in United and American Airlines flight attendant uniforms from 2001.