Deaths in May 2022-- Part 6: Mineta, Gilley, Lanier, Akleh and Liotta

NORMAN MINETA, 90

**  He broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in high profile government posts who ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks as the Federal Transportation Secretary.  Died May 3.

MICKEY GILLEY, 86

**  Country singer whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" and a nationwide wave of Western-themed night spots.  Died May 7.  No Bull!!

What great music.  But, I never got on one of those mechanical bulls.  My back is still okay.

BOB LANIER, 73

**  The left-habded big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareen Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA's top players of the seventies.  Died May 10.

SHIREEN ABU AKLEH, 51

**  A correspondent who became a household name synonymous with with Al Jazeera's coverage of life under occupation during her more than two decades reporting in the Palestinian territories.  Died May 11.

RAY LIOTTA, 67

**  Actor best-known for playing mobster Henry Hill in "Goodfellas" and baseball player "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams."  Died May 26.

"Do I Amuse You?"  

Some More Facts About 9/11 (And My Thoughts)

I was unable to do my annual commemoration of 9/11 yesterday, so am doing it today in seven of my eight blogs.

From the Do Something Organization "11 facts about 9/11."

**  After the 9/11 atacks on the World Trade Center towers,  the rescue and recovery clean-up of the 1.8 million tons of wreckage from the WTC took 9 months.

I would have liked to have seen that one section of the exterior that was still standing be kept as part of the Memorial.

Plus, when I heard about the call for blood donations, I was thinking that I doubted anyone in those towers when they fell would have survived.  Only a few did.

**  Passengers aboard United Flight 93 heard about the earlier airplane attacks and crashes and decided to attempt to retake ontrol of the plane from the hijackers.  As a result, the hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into the Pennsylvania field instead of their unknown target.  

Personally, I think the Capitol was the target.  That is the seat of our government.

Tomorrow is the Anniversary of 9/11

Definitely a day I will never forget.  I'll be putting up my U.S. flags and attending a memorial ceremony in Johnsburg, Illinois, at 9 a.m..

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 4: Flight 77 Crashes Into the Pentagon and South Tower Collapses

Times are Eastern.

**  9:21 am:  The New York Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

**  9:24 The FAA notifies NEADS of the suspected  hijacking of Flight  77 after some passengers and crew aboard the aircraft are able to contact family members on the ground.

**  9:31:  Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."

9:37:  Terrorists aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.

9:42:  For the first time in history, the FAA grounds  all flights over the continental United States.  Over the next two and a half hours, some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to land in airports in Canada and the United States.

9:45:  Among escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces.

9:59:  The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

I conducted my regular class schedule for first period.  It ended at 8:45 am (9:45 Eastern) and that is when I learned about what was going on from another teacher.  I went back inside the room (we had to watch the halls during passing time) and tried to get reception on my 12-inch black and white TV, but couldn't, so turned on the radio.

Second period started at 8:50.  We listened to that radio and talked about what had happened the rest of the day in my next four classes.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 3: The Second Crash

**  8:47 am:  Within seconds after the first crash, NYPD and NYFD dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority officers on the site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

**  8:50:   White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts  President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting a m elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.

**  9:02:  After initially telling occupants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated  10,000 to 14,000 are already in the process of evacuating.

**  9:03 am:  Hijackers crash United Airlines175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds in the tower.

**  9:08 am:  The FAA Bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through airspace around the city.

At 7:50 am I was outside my room supervising the arrival of students.  By 7:55 they were in the room and working on the Daily Challenge questions on the board while I took attendance.  Completely oblivious about what was going on.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 2: Two More Flights Hijacked and the First Crash

**  8:20 am:  American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.  The Boeing 757 is headed to Los Angeles with 64 people aboard.

**  8:24:  One of the hijackers (name given but I do not honor them with a name) aboard Flight 11 makes one of two accidental transmissions to ground control.  Evidently he was trying to communicate with the plane's cabin.

**  8:40:  Air  traffic controllers at the federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert  North American Aerospace  Defense Command (NORAD)'s Northeast Defense Sector (NEADS) about the suspected hijacking of Flight 11.  In response, NEADS scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape Cod's Otis Air National Guard Base to locate and tail Flight 11;  they are not yet in the air  when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

**  8:41:  United Airlines Flight  93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people aboard, takes off from Newark (NJ)  International Airport en route to San Francisco.  It had been scheduled to take off at 8:00 am, about the same time as the other hijacked flights.

**  8:46 am:  (Name given, but dishonored) and other hijackers crash Flight 11 into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

By 7:46 am, I am at school preparing for my first class to start at 7:55 am.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 1: Flights 11 and 175

Every September 11 I stop my blogs to remember.

All times Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

On September 11, 2001, on a clear, sunny day, terrorists on board three hijacked  passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide missions against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C..  Everyone aboard the planes were killed and  nearly 3,000 people on the ground.

A fourth plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,  killing all aboard after the passengers tried to gain control of the plane themselves.

**  7:59 am:  American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767,  with 92 people aboard,   takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport, en route to Los Angeles.

**  8:14 am:  United Airlines Flight  175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, takes off from Boston; it also is headed for Los Angeles.

**   8:19:  Flight attendants  aboard Flight 11 alert ground personnel that the plane has been hijacked; American Airlines notifies the FBI.

During this time I was at home finishing up my coffee and getting ready to drive from Spring Grove to my teaching job in Round Lake, Illinois.  We are at an hour's difference in Central Time Zone.

The USS New York (LPD-21), The Twin Towers Risen

Earlier this month, I wrote several entries on the USS Green Bay (LPD-20).

I am currently writing about the sister ship of the USS Green Bay (LPD-21), the USS New York (LPD-21) in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.  This is in commemoration of 9/11 tomorrow.

Today's U.S. Navy ships  are given state names if they are submarines, but this surface ship was given the name New York to honor the New Yorkers who died twenty years ago.  This ship received the name because it is a primary ship used against terrorists and, in addition, has some of the World Trade Center in her.

We Spent the Next Week in Class Studying About 9-11 and Events As They Unfolded

I not only stopped my lesson plans for September 1, but continued doing so for the next week.  I told my students this was going to be their Pearl Harbor or JFK assassination.

We located Israel, the Arab countries of the Middle East as well as Washington, D.C., New York City and Pennsylvania, all major parts of 9-11.

I then started talking about world events that led up to what happened.

My seventh graders then began writing a 500-word essay on their own experience on 9-11.  You can't get any closer to history than when you write about something you have actually experienced.

I retired in 2006, but every one of my classes after 2001 had to write a 500-word essay on their experiences from that day.  They could also include what happened to the rest of their relatives on that day.

10 Years That Made the Modern World-- Part 1: 2001, 1848, 1918, 1962, 1953

From the February 3, 2020, ListVerse by Himanshu Sharma.

I am doing the very short version.  Go to site for more info and pictures.

10.  2001

Understanding the human genome, 9/11 terrorist attacks on U.S.

*****************

9.  1848 

Wave of revolutions that hit Europe and elsewhere.  Idea of nation-state.

*****************

8.  1918

The end of World War I, end of Ottaman, German,  Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires.  Spanish flu pandemic.

*****************

7.  1962

Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis,   Things heating up in Vietnam.  Vatican Council

*****************

6.  1953

Coup in Iran,  Rise of Iran as a power  DNA a double helix, designer babies and clones.

--Cooter

Deaths of 9-11 Responders Continue to Rise

From the September 12, 2019, Chicago Tribune  "Deaths of 9/11 first responders from related illnesses on rise" by Cindy Dampier.

New York City detective Tom Frey talks about the most devastating assignment of his career.  "We were going down there, just trying to find anyone who was alive," he says of the hours and days after the attacks.  "We were digging in, moving concrete with our hands, basically just trying to find anyone who was alive.  I was never lucky enough to find a survivor, but we did all we could."

Instead, he found himself tending to the dead, sifting through the debris brought to a Staten Island landfill looking for any trace of evidence that could shed light on the horrific attack.  He searched for plane parts and human remains, all parts of a landscape rendered unrecognizable by pulverizing destruction and a pervasive layer of gray dust.

"On the job, I've seen plane crashes, people jumping out of windows, hanging themselves, subways derailed -- all sorts of things.  But you're never prepared for something like this."

America never would be the same.  Neither would Tom Frey.

Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)-- Part 3

Continued from my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II and Not So Forgotten: War of 1912 blogs.

Alan Jackson

*******************

Did You Look Up to Heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself  and what really matters?

I'm just a singer of simple songs

I'm not a real politician man

I watch CNN

But I'm not sure  I can tell you

The difference between Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus

And I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young

Faith, hope and love are some  things He gave us

And the greatest is love.

****************

That song got me then and gets me now.

Ten Details That Make History's Worst Tragedies Even Worse-- Part 1

From the January 25, 2017, ListVerse by Mark Oliver.  I just list the event.  There are more details and pictures at the site.

10.  Tiananmen Massacre--  Anywhere between 300 and 2,700 gunned down.  Reports have it that the Chinese government billed the families of those killed for the cost of bullets used to kill them, 27 cents apiece.

9.  My Lai Massacre, Vietnam War.  Over 350 Vietnamese civilians gunned down by American troops.  Nixon pardoned the man responsible.

8.  Pompeii and Herculeum--  Volcanic lava got so hot that people's heads exploded.

7.  9/11:  Fallout led to more cancer and car crashes.  Twin Towers built with 400 tons of asbestos and it spread out.  Around 1,400 first responders have died.  Plus, there was a marked increase in car accident deaths afterwards as people were afraid to fly.

6.  Irish Potato Famine--  Queen Victoria forbade people from donating too much to their relief.

--Cooter

Remnant of 9/11 in Tinley Park, Illinois-- Part 2

Continued From my RoadDog's RoadLog blog.  You can click on it in the My Blogs section to the right.

The village Fire Department has had a banner created that will be mounted near the beam as a way to honor it and alert people as to its presence.

There were also plans for a mural to be made on the building by its present location, but that was dropped as plans for a more permanent memorial developed.

However, at least in 2016, nothing was done about it.

Come on Tinley Park, do something with it.  You have a real piece of history.  I'm sure we here in Spring Grove,Illinois, would be more than happy to take it off your hands.

Since this article is from Sept. 11, 2016, I was wondering if anything else has been done in Tinley Park since then.  I haven't been able to find that anything has.  But I did find an article about the beam coming to the town and will write about it in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog today.  Click on the site at My Blogs to the right of this post.

U.S. Flags Still Up Today and Tomorrow

I have six United States flags up here at the house in Spring Grove, Illinois.  Sad to see that so few people flew flags yesterday.  Kind of was a flag thing to do.

And, I will have them up today and tomorrow.

Never Forgetting.

Flag of Honor and Flag of Heroes

As I was looking around the internet for 9-11 material, I came across these two flags. Both are United States flags, but the stripes are not one block of color.

The Flag of Honor to honor the people who died on September 11, 2001.  Their names are written on the stripes of the flag.

The Flag of Heroes is to honor emergency personnel who died on that day.  Their names make up the stripes.

I am thinking about getting one, perhaps both, for the next commemoration.

9-11 Observances Across the United States: New York, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pa.

From USA Today.

In New York City, the observance begins at 8:46 a.m., ET, when the first tower of the World Trade Center was struck.  The second plane hit the second tower at 9:03 a.m..

At 9:37  a.m., President Trump will lead the observance at the Pentagon Building outside Washington, D.C..  That was the moment the third plane hit.

The observance near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, will begin at 10:03 a.m. ET, when the fourth plane crashed.

The names of all victims will be read at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.

The USS Simpson (FFG-56)-- Part 2

In 1988, the Simpson escorted oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War.

On April 18, 1988 it participated in the destruction of Iranian naval and intelligence facilities on an oil platform in the Persian Gulf.  Later that day the Simpson, along with the USS Wainwright and USS Bagley encountered the Iranian missile patrol boat Joshan which fired a Harpoon missile at the American ships which returned missile fire and sank the Iranian ship.

The other two ships were decommissioned before the Simpson which makes it the last U.S. ship to sink an enemy ship in combat (other than the USS Constitution, of course).

In 1990 it rescued 22 crew members of the tanker Surf City after it exploded.

Captain Gerald F. DeConto commanded the Simpson from September 1998 to April 2000.  He was killed at the Pentagon on 9-11.

The Simpson was the last ship of its class in service.  I was unable to find out if a foreign country has bought the ship or not.

--DaCoot

A Fitting 9-11 Memorial

I saw a piece of the World Trade Center ruins, a piece of twisted metal girder, at the Lincoln College College Museum in Lincoln, Illinois.  That really took me to the that unforgettable site.  I think it is too bad that similar pieces or artifacts weren't sent to each of the fifty states.

I am impressed with what they have done in New York City to memorialize the site of the WTC, but I would also have liked a part of that 6-7 story exterior that was still standing after the attack.  To me, that summed up the event as well as anything.

Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs-- Part 3: 9/11 and KKK

The exhibit doesn't have much more to add on  9/11, but the twisted piece of an airplane said to be from the World Trade Centers packs a punch.  The show is stronger when it goes back farther in time.  It tells about the Ku Klux Klan marching in Washington, D.C. and even KKK business cards.

They also have a bulletin board to address current day events with articles about "Trump's border wall" and the racist Charleston killer, whose name I won't mention..

Some more photos accompanying the article:

**  The robes worn by the KKK, including a red one and, even sadder, a kid's robe.

**  A pike

**  Equipment worn by an emergency services worker at the Oklahoma City bombing site.

The exhibit goes through October 1 and is included with the $16 general admission price  The Chicago History Museum is at 1601 N. Clark Street

--Cooter