Testament to 9/11 Heroes
_Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
August 31, 2004
NEW YORK -- Minnesota native Tom Burnett was not only a hero of Sept. 11, but an ardent supporter of President Bush, according to his widow, Deena Burnett. Among the best-kept secrets of the Republican National Convention was the appearance by three family members of the Sept. 11 victims, including Burnett.
On a night that relied heavily on the backdrop of New York City as a target of the attacks, Burnett invoked the courage of passengers including her husband, who rushed the cockpit of hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, forcing it to crash in a field in Shanksville, Pa.
"We now know that what they did prevented that plane from hitting its intended target," Burnett said. "What they did was the personification of courage and a testament to the American spirit."
She recalled her husband's last words from his cell phone: "We're going to do something." "Those words resonate in my heart and soul," she said. "I think those words directed the actions of all the heroes of 9/11, and they should direct ours. Whether it is serving in the military, doing volunteer work, or simply helping your neighbor ... it is our responsibility as citizens of the greatest nation in the world to 'do something.'
The heroes of 9/11 weren't created that day. Their actions were the result of virtues practiced over a lifetime."
She made no direct references to Bush in her prepared remarks. But in an interview, Burnett said she approached convention organizers a year ago to set up her speech, which was limited to two minutes.
She said she had hoped for a five-minute presentation. "It's not everything I wanted to say," Burnett said. "I wanted to show my support for President Bush and to be able to tell Tom's story."
She described Tom Burnett as a "staunch Republican and very conservative." She described herself as a registered Republican who sometimes votes for candidates of different parties.
The other Sept. 11 family members on the podium were Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was a pilot on American Airlines Flight 77 when it struck the Pentagon, and Tara Stackpole, whose husband, Capt. Timothy Stackpole, was a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center.
Burnett, a former flight attendant who came to the convention from her home in Little Rock, Ark., dismissed any suggestion that the Republicans were exploiting the tragedy that took her husband's life.
"If anybody has the right to talk about Sept. 11, it's President Bush," she said. "To say he shouldn't talk about 9/11 is absolutely ridiculous. It's a part of our history, and he lived through it with us."
Burnett also dismissed the protesters who marched through downtown Manhattan Sunday to condemn Bush and the war in Iraq.
"I saw a man waving a photo of his son in uniform," she recounted. "He had been killed in Iraq. The man was screaming and yelling. I thought he was disgracing the memory of his son. I felt sorry for him. I felt the same about the protesters. They were disgracing our military."
Burnett said rehearsing her speech on Sunday while looking out over the convention hall was "electrifying. ... It was an honor."
NEW YORK -- Minnesota native Tom Burnett was not only a hero of Sept. 11, but an ardent supporter of President Bush, according to his widow, Deena Burnett. Among the best-kept secrets of the Republican National Convention was the appearance by three family members of the Sept. 11 victims, including Burnett.
On a night that relied heavily on the backdrop of New York City as a target of the attacks, Burnett invoked the courage of passengers including her husband, who rushed the cockpit of hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, forcing it to crash in a field in Shanksville, Pa.
"We now know that what they did prevented that plane from hitting its intended target," Burnett said. "What they did was the personification of courage and a testament to the American spirit."
She recalled her husband's last words from his cell phone: "We're going to do something." "Those words resonate in my heart and soul," she said. "I think those words directed the actions of all the heroes of 9/11, and they should direct ours. Whether it is serving in the military, doing volunteer work, or simply helping your neighbor ... it is our responsibility as citizens of the greatest nation in the world to 'do something.'
The heroes of 9/11 weren't created that day. Their actions were the result of virtues practiced over a lifetime."
She made no direct references to Bush in her prepared remarks. But in an interview, Burnett said she approached convention organizers a year ago to set up her speech, which was limited to two minutes.
She said she had hoped for a five-minute presentation. "It's not everything I wanted to say," Burnett said. "I wanted to show my support for President Bush and to be able to tell Tom's story."
She described Tom Burnett as a "staunch Republican and very conservative." She described herself as a registered Republican who sometimes votes for candidates of different parties.
The other Sept. 11 family members on the podium were Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was a pilot on American Airlines Flight 77 when it struck the Pentagon, and Tara Stackpole, whose husband, Capt. Timothy Stackpole, was a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center.
Burnett, a former flight attendant who came to the convention from her home in Little Rock, Ark., dismissed any suggestion that the Republicans were exploiting the tragedy that took her husband's life.
"If anybody has the right to talk about Sept. 11, it's President Bush," she said. "To say he shouldn't talk about 9/11 is absolutely ridiculous. It's a part of our history, and he lived through it with us."
Burnett also dismissed the protesters who marched through downtown Manhattan Sunday to condemn Bush and the war in Iraq.
"I saw a man waving a photo of his son in uniform," she recounted. "He had been killed in Iraq. The man was screaming and yelling. I thought he was disgracing the memory of his son. I felt sorry for him. I felt the same about the protesters. They were disgracing our military."
Burnett said rehearsing her speech on Sunday while looking out over the convention hall was "electrifying. ... It was an honor."
