Deena Burnett Bailey, widow of Tom Burnett, who was a passenger of United Airlines flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, spoke to a crowd that could have heard a pin drop Tuesday at the Lincoln Day Dinner, held in the East McCastlain Ballroom at the University of Central Arkansas.
According to information provided at the dinner, "Bailey has become a well-known voice for the victims' families of Sept. 11. She successfully spearheaded an effort to have the Flight 93 cockpit voice recorder released in April 2002. She is currently the lead plaintiff in an unprecedented lawsuit to bankrupt terrorist organizations. Twice, she served as a witness in the criminal trials of Al Qaeda members in Europe. She resides in Little Rock with her three daughters (Halley, Madison and Anna Clare), her new husband, Rodney and his son, Tanner."
State Sen. Gilbert Baker introduced Bailey.
"Deena had a very normal, quiet family life in California. Tom got on that plane and he stepped up for our country," he said.
Following her husband's death, she could have chosen to go back to a normal life but instead decided to be in front of the microphone, trying to make sense of what happened, he said. Baker added that President George Bush once commented that the first warriors in the war on terror were the citizens on United 93.
Bailey began by recognizing the wives of deployed members of the 39th Brigade, who had been honored earlier in the evening. She thanked them for their sacrifice and for their husbands' sacrifice.
"I am very glad to be able to share with you my story tonight," she said to the audience. "We are here to honor those who served, and there are so many ways we can serve. Not only how Tom served each of us on Sept. 11, but we can serve."
On Sept. 11, 2001, Bailey was living in the San Francisco area, and her husband Tom was on a business trip in New York. She was preparing breakfast for her children and watching television when she saw the first plane fly into the World Trade Center. She thought something was wrong with air traffic control. When another plane hit the second tower, she became concerned. Her mother called asking about Tom, followed by her mother-in-law.
The call waiting chimed in on her mother-in-law. It was Tom.
"I said, 'Tom, you're okay.' He said, 'I'm not.'," Bailey recalled.
He told her his plane had been hijacked. The hijackers had knifed one passenger already and were trying to get into the cockpit. He told her to call the authorities and hung up.
"I stood there, planes flying into the World Trade Center, children tugging at my robe, and all I could think was what that was happening miles away was now happening in my living room," Bailey said.
She scrambled through the phone books.
"Who do you call for a hijacking?" she asked.
She finally called 911, though she doubted they would believe her. However, they did, and transferred her through several agencies. She ended up talking with the FBI and was trying to convince an FBI agent there was a third hijacked plane when Tom rang in on the call waiting again.
She remembered to tell him about the other hijacked planes and how they had crashed into buildings. He asked her where they were taking his plane. She told him what the television news said.
"He sounded so calm," she said, like he was at work. "Assessing the situation, trying to solve the problem."
On Tom's third call, he was putting together a plan to take back the plane. He told her not to worry, there was a group of them. He asked a few more questions. He called one more time, saying they were over a rural area and they were waiting to take back the plane. She asked him if she could do anything else.
"He said, 'Pray.'"
"Where there is a man of faith, there is a man of courage, and I know that his faith gave him the courage to lead those people down that aisle and into the cockpit," she said.
Bailey said she held the phone for hours, waiting for him to call. She prayed for all the families. She believed he would be okay.
"He and his fellow passengers and crew have been hailed as heroes. Heroes are not born. They are made by living a lifetime of values and instilling those values in those around them by their service," she said.
Tom Burnett was given a full military burial and laid to rest in a military cemetery. His tombstone is inscribed with the words "citizen soldier," Bailey said.
"It was our country's way of saying 'thank you.'"
She went on, "Many of us will never be called upon to lay down our lives, but each of us can live to be worthy of those who have by serving, whether it's our country, our community or our neighbor."
She concluded, "We have the opportunity every day to serve (in) ways big and small. I thank you for the service you can do, for the something you can do."
