Remembering Those Lost on Sept. 11

Sunday night, Shannon Kent was lying in bed watching Celebrity Apprentice when NBC News interrupted the programming to tease the fact that President Barack Obama would address the nation in a few moments.

“At first I thought, ‘this had better be good’,” Kent said smiling Monday afternoon, “but then I saw across the screen that it was bin Laden, he’d been captured…,” her voice trailing.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Kent’s good friend Michael Tarrou was killed. He was one of nine crewmembers aboard United Airlines Flight 175. For years Kent has watched on television or scene images of the plane hitting the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. It replays in her brain.

“I was … among everything else, overwhelmed with grateful joy. I mean you don’t wish death on anybody, but… to know that my friend has peace, that made me feel good for her and our country as well,” Kent said Monday.

In addition to Tarrou, Stafford resident Amy King, a crewmember of Flight 175, also perished. In Windsor, wife and mother Margaret Orloske lost her life while working at the World Trade Center.

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On Sept. 11, Kent, a Tolland native, sat with her mother and sister at the Tolland Senior Center and watched the events unfold on television. She held her infant daughter Olivia close. She didn’t know what to do next.

That evening she went to work. The phone rang. It was United Airlines. They needed Tarrou’s dental records.

Kent met Tarrou when he was a dental patient in the office where she worked. She described him as fun loving and a good friend. He had a giving spirit. Kent became very close friends with his wife; Kent said they were separated at the time of the terrorist attack.

After hanging up with the airline she called her friend. They could barely speak

Since that time, seemingly insignificant everyday occurrences bring those memories back vividly, from the Bob Seger song Fire Inside to continuous media coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It’s still so fresh, we relive it everyday with the stories of the soldiers, it never really goes away,” Kent said.

The news of bin Laden’s death brought all the memories back: she immediately remember the moment she’d heard about the attacks. The feelings returned, but this time they created an uneasy mix of relief and dread.  

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In separate news releases Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal, along with Reps. Joe Courtney and John B. Larson praised the president and the military for the decision to strike the compound in northern Pakistan where bin Laden was living and the actions taken to complete the mission.

The men also said they hoped that the news would bring some solace and possibly closure to the friends and families of those lost on Sept. 11th.

"The brilliant, daring strike against Osama bin Laden will hopefully provide some closure for the families of the victims of 9/11 and be a platform for a new era of international cooperation to end the scourge of terrorism,” Courtney, the congressman for the state’s second district, said.

They also took the moment to send a message to those “who still wish to harm” the United States.

“Let this serve as notice - if you attack our nation, if you attack our citizens, no matter how long it takes, we will bring you to justice,” Larson said.

The representative for Connecticut’s first congressional district also credited former President George W. Bush for rallying the nation on Sept. 11th

“Tonight’s spontaneous outbreak of national pride reminds me of the moment when Members of Congress set aside party differences and joined together on 9/11 to sing God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol,” Larson said of the celebrations in Washington DC and New York City late Sunday and early Monday.  “I hope we can all use this moment to come together and work to move the nation forward.”

Yet, the men also preached caution.

“We must remain vigilant, vigorous and avoid complacency in the war against terror which continues since the enemies of democracy and freedom are greater than one individual,” Blumenthal said. “While we hope for peace, we must do everything possible to support the brave American military men and women whose relentless service and sacrifice helped win this victory.”

With Lieberman adding, “The end of Osama bin Laden - at American hands, and in partnership with a Muslim ally - marks a historic victory in this longer struggle. Bin Laden's death should bring a measure of justice and solace to al Qaeda's victims, and fear to its ranks, who now must know their hour of reckoning, too, shall come.”

"The death of bin Laden should also provide all of us with a renewed sense of hope and confidence about the progress we have achieved in this struggle since 9/11 and the ultimate success I am confident we will achieve in this war. While the path ahead from this moment remains long, Americans will wake up tomorrow in a safer, better, and more just world," Lieberman said.

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In the John E. Julian Heritage Park in Stafford a memorial tree stands in memory of Amy King and Tarrou, originally from New York state, but who lived in the town of 11,000 people when they died. It has been reported that King, who was also a crewmember aboard Flight 175, and Tarrou were dating at the time

Jill Carlson, a retired flight attendant, puts flowers on their memorial every Sept. 11th.

In Windsor, a small, subtle memorial stands in the Settlement Hill neighborhood, with another at the high school in memory of Margaret Orloske, a wife and mother who perished while working on the 96th floor of the north tower.  

For family and friends of those who were lost that day, the news of bin Laden’s demise is bittersweet. They do not want to celebrate someone’s violent death, but they do think justice has been served.

"There is a satisfaction in him being brought to justice," Duane Orloske, Margaret’s widower, said Monday. "But as far as there ever being closure, I don't think that will ever happen."

“My reaction is mixed,”  Tarrou’s childhood friend Lisa Stawecki said Monday. The two grew up together in Wantaugh, NY. “While I'm certainly happy that the person responsible for orchestrating the event that not only took the life of my lifelong best friend and so many other innocent people, it ultimately does not bring Michael back to me.”

“I'm hoping that this event brings peace to the families and friends of those who died. That's all that's important,” Stawecki said. “And I also know that Michael would have been extremely sad to be a part of an act of terrorism that caused a war to go on this long. He was someone interested in peace and love.”

“Knowing the struggle that she’s been through for the past 10 years, and that her daughter has been through, this has been… a long awaited… journey coming to an end,” Kent said of her friend.