On the morning of September 11, 2001, 27-year-old Honor Elizabeth Wainio boarded United Flight 93, on her way to a company meeting for Discovery Channel Stores.
She had no way of knowing that her flight would soon become part of history.
When hijackers took control of the plane, fear spread through the cabin. Yet Honor reached out for connection. At 9:53 a.m., she called her stepmother. Her voice was calm, her words full of love:
“It hurts me that it’s going to be so much harder for you all than it is for me.”
Her final words came just moments before the passengers of Flight 93 fought back against the hijackers:
“I have to go. They’re breaking into the cockpit. I love you.”
Honor’s strength, like that of everyone on Flight 93, reminds us that even in tragedy, humanity’s greatest act is love.
We remember. We will never forget.