Sat, 3 Nov 2001

Tom Heidenberger's comments accepting Fred Lebow honorary statue.

Members of the tribute committee, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am honored to be standing before you today, on behalf of my wife Michele and the rest of the airline employees lost on September 11, 2001, to accept the honor you have bestowed on them and to celebrate what both they, and Fred Lebow, stood for.

A few of you know that I first became acquainted with the New York City Marathon Tribute Committee because of my participation in a running event that I never, ever planned on running.

Indeed, the organizers of the event never planned on organizing it. But then, after September 11, many of us did things that we didn't plan to do. The event is called the Americans United Flag Across America, and it is a 3,872 mile relay with the United States flag, being run from one coast to the other, specifically to honor the memories of the crewmembers killed on AA Flights 11 and 77, and United Flights 93 and 175.

Some of the men who founded this symbolic gesture to the airline crewmembers lost on September 11 are here with me on stage-First Officer Michael Burr and First Officer Todd Wissing, both of American Airlines. They are joined by representatives of American and United Airlines. By waving the flag across the country, these men and their fellow runners are following in the footsteps of Fred Lebow, who brought millions of people together in his lifetime, uniting nations with his work in the running world.

The aircrews of the flights of September 11, it turns out, are also uniting a nation.

My wife Michele's name is on this miniature statue. But along with her name are the names of 32 other true American heroes. They lived doing their jobs and living their lives with excellence and grace, and that is also how they died. Whether flying the aircraft, insuring the safety of the passengers or simply smiling their smiles and laughing their laughs, they epitomized the one thing that we always said that we held dear: the American way of life.

That is something that we, because of their sacrifice, now treasure more than ever before.

I am proud of my profession, and the professionals who responded to the crippling blow this country suffered on September 11 with competence and bravery. When the country was paralyzed and the nation's eyes turned to the airline crews, they put aside their fears and did what they knew the country needed them to do-they got back in the air.

Michele and the rest of the brave heroes of September 11 will stand for all time as pioneers who led this country back to the determined roots that let us rise to greatness as a nation. We look at September 11-a day that will live in infamy forever, and we see how the world has changed.

But we must also remember that it is important for our way of life to remain the same-and to do the things we need to do to protect it. The people who's names appear on this statue are depending on us to do that.

Because of the heroes of Flights 11, 93, 77 and 175, we are now the re-United States of America-we will only grow stronger in our resolve.

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