Flight 93 passengers, crew to be honored in Sunday ceremony

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After 15 years, last artifacts of 9/11 have been given away

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Suspicion. The world has had to live with it since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.</p><p>Monsignor John Bendik, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston, said widespread suspicion is the biggest change he has seen in the world in the last 15 years.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s dramatic,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We live in a totally different world. We are so suspicious of each other. We can&#8217;t go anywhere without holding these suspicions.&#8221;</p><p>On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network hijacked and flew two jetliners into the twin towers of New York City&#8217;s World Trade Center, causing them to collapse. Another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth hijacked plan &#8212; United Airlines Flight 93 &#8212; crashed in Shanksville after passengers fought back against the hijackers. A total of 2,977 people were killed at the three sites.</p><p>The Times Leader talked to four people &#8212; Monsignor Bendik, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport Executive Director Carl Beardsley, Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky, and teacher/veteran Anthony Dicton of Wyoming Valley West High School &#8212; and asked each how their jobs had changed since 9/11.</p><p>Bendik said people today look at each other much differently than before 9/11. He said we are constantly wondering what people are doing around us, and hold those suspicions based mainly on the way people look.</p><p>&#8220;What we once experienced as our freedom has now placed us in a whole different mode,&#8221; Bendik said. &#8220;Personally, 9/11 made me very conscious of the fact that our world has changed dramatically. We are very vulnerable. What happened that day could happen anywhere at anytime.&#8221;</p><p>Bendik said there have been so many terroristic events over the last 15 years they have almost become commonplace. He said it all contributes to the tenuous way we live our lives.</p><p>&#8220;It affects how we look at people &#8212; we look at them in a way we never did before,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We check around to see who we&#8217;re getting on a plane with &#8212; who looks suspicious today.&#8221;</p><p>Bendik said we all hope for peace, and advised we first find peace inside ourselves.</p><p>&#8220;Our peace can be destroyed in an instant at any time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We must treat each other with dignity and hope it will be returned.&#8221;</p><p>Bendik said the people of his parish give back, donating food and clothing to distribute to those in need. He doesn&#8217;t see fear in his parishioners.</p><p>&#8220;I think they all feel a sense of comfort in the church,&#8221; Bendik said. &#8220;We take care of each other.&#8221;</p><p>Over the last 15 years, he said, people have remained deeply affected by the events of 9/11 and the constant threat of terrorism, but that hasn&#8217;t stopped them from caring about their fellow human beings.</p><p>&#8220;This is and always will be the &#8216;Valley With a Heart,&#8217;&#8221; he said. &#8220;Our people are not traumatized; they generously share of themselves.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Airports deal with necessary changes</strong></p><p>Carl Beardsley, executive director at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, said 9/11 dramatically changed customer experience for air travelers.</p><p>After 15 years, passengers are now used to having to arrive an hour and a half early for their flights, taking their shoes off as they get ready to board and to restrictions on what they can and cannot take on a plane.</p><p>Beardsley said the airport is in the process of moving the security check-in closer to the escalators to allow passengers to get through the check-in and then spend time in the restaurant while they wait to board flights.</p><p>The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) handles all airport screening and airline security-related issues.</p><p>Beardsley said there have been a great deal of airline mergers and acquisitions since 9/11 that have put the airline industry in a much better financial condition.</p><p>&#8220;Prior to 9/11, airlines struggled financially,&#8221; Beardsley said. &#8220;Since 9/11, the airlines have focused on flying routes that are profitable and serve a purpose for the airlines financially.&#8221;</p><p>He noted there are now four &#8220;legacy&#8221; airlines, down from eight prior to 9/11: American, United, Delta and Southwest.</p><p>&#8220;Passengers have adjusted to the new normal of airport security rather quickly,&#8221; he said. &#8220;At first, it was a struggle, but over time they understand the necessity of the changes.&#8221;</p><p>Beardsley said a career in aviation has retained its allure as a glamour profession.</p><p>&#8220;But airlines are struggling with a pilot shortage,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Airlines are now contracting with colleges and universities to assure they will have pilots in the future.&#8221;</p><p>New requirements and new training requirements have had a profound impact on the way airlines do business, the director explained. It takes longer now to train a new pilot to be a first officer or captain.</p><p>Through it all, Beardsley said the main goal at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre airport has remained providing the best possible customer experience for travelers.</p><p>&#8220;We want to make sure those who travel through us have a good experience and they get to their destinations on time,&#8221; Beardsley said. &#8220;Confidence has returned to travelers &#8212; they&#8217;re used to the new normal and they are not afraid to travel. They know they have to approach their flight in a different way.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Law enforcement affected</strong></p><p>Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky said the training to become a police officer changed following 9/11.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s been a greater focus on anti-terrorism and homeland security training,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Our job became much more difficult after 9/11.&#8221;</p><p>Lendacky said additional training has affected her budget, training procedures and the recruitment of new officers. Officers today have to be much more prepared for the job.</p><p>&#8220;For instance, look at all the visits by political candidates,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It takes a lot to get ready for those. And officers have to always be alert because you have to be prepared for anything.&#8221;</p><p>Lendacky said officers have to be able to differentiate between a copy-cat terrorist, a person with a mental issue and a common criminal.</p><p>Remembering 9/11 and the scene in New York City, in particular, Lendacky said the tragedy made her realize a police officer has to be prepared for all types of situations.</p><p>&#8220;When you see what can happen, you realize how lucky you are to have what you have,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But we learn that you can never take anything for granted.&#8221;</p><p>Recently, Lendacky said, a woman made a small donation to the city&#8217;s K-9 fund to help pay for a new K-9 dog and training for it and the officer. The chief said the woman&#8217;s son &#8212; a first responder on 9/11 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. &#8212; recently died of cancer.</p><p>&#8220;She made the donation in her son&#8217;s memory,&#8221; Lendacky said. &#8220;She wanted to do what she could to help us do our job.&#8221;</p><p><strong>9/11 in the classroom</strong></p><p>Anthony Dicton has taught social studies to eighth- and ninth-grade students at the Wyoming Valley West High School in Plymouth for 16 years. He also served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq in 2006-07</p><p>Dicton said immediately after 9/11, students were very involved with the story. Some of them knew people directly affected by the attacks.</p><p>But many of his students in 2016, he said, weren&#8217;t even born when 9/11 happened.</p><p>&#8220;As a result, they aren&#8217;t as connected to it as we all were when it happened,&#8221; Dicton said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the Agnes flood of 1972 &#8212; two events that people who were around then could tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.&#8221;</p><p>As a result, he said, it&#8217;s sometimes difficult to impress upon students how life-changing 9/11 was for the country.</p><p>Dicton said he uses 9/11 and connects it to historical events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, leading class discussions on how different the world would be if the U.S. didn&#8217;t prevail.</p><p>&#8220;We teach them about the sacrifices that were made to preserve freedom for all Americans,&#8221; Dicton said. &#8220;As they get older, the students will have a better understanding of it all.&#8221;</p><p>When the subject of 9/11 is raised, Dicton said, the students watch news accounts and documentaries and then ask questions.</p><p>&#8220;They ask why we got into the Iraq War, and that usually leads to ISIS and the mistreating of Muslims,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That drives the conversation toward tolerance. Every year, it seems the sense of pride and patriotism among the students increases.&#8221;</p><p>Dicton said the students seem to understand the impact of events like 9/11.</p><p>&#8220;I want to believe they have more patriotism,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Sometimes they don&#8217;t know why, but they are learning and that leads to a better understanding.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Firefighters make their way through the rubble after terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows Tuesday that brought down the twin 110-story towers in New York Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_AP_01091106341.jpg</photo0><caption0>Firefighters make their way through the rubble after terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows Tuesday that brought down the twin 110-story towers in New York Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_PEACE.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Deacon Chris Sutton offer a scripture reading during a Prayer for Peace event Saturday, marking the anniversary of 9/11, at the Prince of Peace Church in Dallas. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_PEACE.jpg</photo1><caption1>Deacon Chris Sutton offer a scripture reading during a Prayer for Peace event Saturday, marking the anniversary of 9/11, at the Prince of Peace Church in Dallas. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Lendacky_Chief-cmyk.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky says police officers have to be more prepared for the job these days. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Lendacky_Chief-cmyk.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky says police officers have to be more prepared for the job these days. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116cosgrove3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Monsignor John Bendik, of St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston, says the world has to live with suspicion since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116cosgrove3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Monsignor John Bendik, of St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston, says the world has to live with suspicion since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL080916AirportDelays1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Carl Beardsley, executive director at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, said 9/11 dramatically changed customer experience for air travelers. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL080916AirportDelays1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Carl Beardsley, executive director at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, said 9/11 dramatically changed customer experience for air travelers. </caption4><photoCredit4>Sean McKeag file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_dicton02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West High School teacher Anthony Dicton sits at a desk in his classroom under an American flag that flew in Iraq, left, and a Bicentennial flag signifying the year he was born. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_dicton02.jpg</photo5><caption5>Wyoming Valley West High School teacher Anthony Dicton sits at a desk in his classroom under an American flag that flew in Iraq, left, and a Bicentennial flag signifying the year he was born. </caption5><photoCredit5>Pete G. Wilcox file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_dicton01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West teacher Dicton said immediately after 9/11, students were very involved with the story. But many of his students in 2016 weren&#8217;t even born when 9/11 happened. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_dicton01.jpg</photo6><caption6>Wyoming Valley West teacher Dicton said immediately after 9/11, students were very involved with the story. But many of his students in 2016 weren&#8217;t even born when 9/11 happened. </caption6><photoCredit6>Pete G. Wilcox file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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15 years after 9/11 attacks, community reflects on how the world has changed