This year marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a day that forever changed our nation and countless lives, including my own.
I still vividly remember that beautiful September morning, seeing the smoke rising from the direction of the Pentagon, and the unsettling feeling that the world had suddenly shifted in a way I could not yet fully understand. I was on maternity leave with my daughter, Morgan, who was two months old that day. While the television coverage showed dramatic scenes of the tragedy unfolding, my attention was less on the screen and more on the tiny baby in my arms as I wondered what kind of world I had brought her into.
The passage of 25 years is difficult to comprehend.
Today, I work alongside talented professionals in their 30s and early 40s who have little or no memory of air travel before September 11. Security checkpoints, travel restrictions, and an aviation industry transformed by that day are simply part of the world they have always known. Some grew up inspired to serve because of what happened. Others know September 11 only through history, photographs, and the stories of those who were there.
I rarely post on Facebook, because for me, it’s like disappearing down a rabbit hole! However, on the 15th anniversary in 2016, I was moved to share the reflection below. Looking back now at what I wrote, I’m struck by how vivid those memories still are.
But what touched me most were the responses from friends and former US Airways colleagues, many of whom I’ve lost touch with over the years. Their comments brought back the affection, pride, and sense of family we shared, and reminded me how much I miss a way of life that no longer exists. This was our collective experience, not just a memory I still carry, but one shared by so many whose lives, careers, and friendships were changed by that day and everything that followed.
Below is the post I shared on September 11, 2016. It appears here exactly as originally written.
Original Reflection | September 11, 2016
15 years ago today I stepped outside on the most gorgeous, crisp September day I can ever remember and looked quizzically at the plume of black smoke 4 miles to the north. On that day, planes fell from the excruciatingly beautiful blue sky and along with the families and victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the lives of those who worked in the airline industry were changed forever.
Baby Morgan was exactly 2 months old that day, and as we watched, disbelievingly, the television footage from the Pentagon and New York City, I wondered what sort of world I had brought her into. Unbeknownst to me, my co-workers in Crystal City were streaming out of the office and joining thousands in bumper to bumper traffic heading south out of the District of Columbia. Some spent four hours that day on the road just trying to get home to their loved ones. It was the beginning of the end.
Over the next few months, it was bizarrely quiet in my garden in Alexandria, VA. Located directly in the flight path just south of Washington National Airport, no airplanes flew overhead except for the occasional fighter jet patrolling DC. The 3-month closure of Washington National was the death knell for US Airways. I cut my maternity leave short to go back to the office as valued staff were let go. It was heartbreaking over the next few years to see our once-proud airline die a slow and lingering death. Packing up and closing down our once vibrant Crystal City headquarters to merge with America West was an incredibly sad way to say farewell to dear friends and co-workers.
Relocating to Tempe (AZ) as part of the merger with America West brought new friends and exciting new projects that I can say unequivocally that I am proud to have overseen. However, on a day like today, it feels as if the long, slow, steady march from 9-11 has finally ended for US Airways. As the brand manager for the airline, it’s painful to know that the name has gone away. If you watch this video, you’ll see there is no longer a name on the Tempe corporate headquarters (the building with the curved top). Ironic isn’t it, that it overlooks the Healing Fields?
So in the end, is the beginning. I miss you all, dear airline friends. Know that I am thinking of you all today. It was a great ride!
Fast Forward to 2026
Now, 25 years later, I find myself reflecting on how much of what followed was personal as well as professional.
The months and years after September 11 brought painful goodbyes, mergers, relocations, and the gradual fading of a US Airways identity that had shaped so much of my 25-year airline career. Those changes felt like the aftershocks of a tragedy none of us had chosen, and few of us knew how to process.
As I reread the comments from my former colleagues, I was moved by their heartfelt words, shared experiences, and pride in having been part of something larger than ourselves. While many acknowledged how profoundly September 11 changed our lives, they also reflected on the relationships that grew from our time together and the unexpected connections that followed. What stayed with me most was the realization that, even years later, the sense of family we felt at USAir and US Airways had not faded. The names on the buildings may have changed, but the memories, friendships, and pride remained.
And so, perhaps that is what has endured — not the airline itself, but the people, their love of aviation, and the connections we made along the way.
I measure the passage of those years in many ways, but most of all through Morgan. The baby I held so closely that morning is now 25, and an entire generation has come of age in a world shaped by that day.
Although the grief has lessened with time, the significance of that day has not diminished.
Ten years ago, I ended my reflection with the words, “So in the end, is the beginning.” That sentiment feels even more meaningful now.
We did move forward, because life required us to. We found new paths, new work, and new friendships. But moving forward does not mean forgetting. Those memories came with us and became part of who we are today.
I visited the Healing Fields memorial in Tempe each September 11 until US Airways had merged with American Airlines and the name came off the building in 2016. It was just too painful to continue going.
This year, I plan to attend a 9-11 memorial service near me to hear the haunting notes of Taps and hold memories of dear friends close as I honor those who lost their lives, those who answered the call to serve, and those whose careers and families were changed forever.
Those of us who lived through that day have a responsibility to carry these memories forward for a generation that did not experience them firsthand. To me, the story of aviation after September 11 is one of resilience, not because the industry was unchanged, but because so many people whose lives and careers were altered still found a way to keep going and contribute to its future.
We remember.
And we always will.
