Community Corner
The Hanson Family Will Never Forget 9/11 [VIDEOS]
A decade later, the Hanson family reflects on Sept. 11 and the lives of Peter, Sue and Christine.
Every American was affected by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
In Easton, after several years of discussion and debate, the lives of those lost are being memorialized in monument form. The park-like setting was designed not to be a gravesite but to be a place where residents can all reflect on that day or just sit and relax.
What makes it more personal for some Easton residents is the fact the stones are engraved with the names of Peter Hanson, a member of Joel Barlow High School's Class of 1987, and his family — Sue, his wife, and Christine their two-and-one-half year old daughter, the youngest victim of the 9/11 attacks.
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Peter grew up in Easton and later moved to Boston. He was on United Airlines Flight 175 with his wife and daughter, en route to Los Angeles, Calif. when terrorists took over the plane and crashed it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Peter received national attention as the phone conversation he had with his father, Lee Hanson, seconds before the plane made impact on the towers was recounted on the national news and subsequent television reenactments.
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According to reports, at 8:52 a.m. on 9/11/01 Peter Hanson called his father in Easton, telling him of the hijacking of Flight 175. Speaking softly, Hanson said that the hijackers had commandeered the cockpit, that a flight attendant had been stabbed, and possibly someone else in the front of the aircraft had been killed. He also said that the plane was flying erratically. Hanson asked his father to contact United Airlines, but Lee could not get through and instead called the police.
Lee Hanson told his son not to worry and that hijackers usually have demands they want met and will find a location to land. Neither Lee Hanson or the United States Government were prepared for what happened next.
Peter Hanson made a second phone call to his father at 9 a.m., according to reports.
"It's getting bad, Dad," the younger Hanson said. "A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and mace. They said they have a bomb. It's getting very bad on the plane. Passengers are throwing up and getting sick. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast....Oh my God... oh my God, oh my God."
Lee Hanson heard a women scream and the call ended as the plane crashed into the South Tower.
During the recovery process, a six-inch piece of bone belonging to Peter Hanson was identified. The remains of many others on United Airlines Flight 175 were never recovered.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has prevented the Army Corps of Engineers from continuing to recover bone fragments and other identifying parts of the 9/11 victims even after local Congressman agreed to do so, according to Hanson.
Hanson’s response to Bloomberg: “The Army Corps has searched for bodies in Vietnam and in Iraq where they have dug up bodies of people who were slaughtered by the previous administration there, yet this mayor, even after he promised to recover the remains from the Fresh Kills Landfill for burial in a place of honor in New York City, has reneged and instead the remains will stay with garbage for the rest of eternity. Mayor Bloomberg has decided that the dump is good enough for these remains and I think it is a sin.”
The pain of their loss aside for the Hanson family, the memorial on the green in front of the is for everyone to enjoy. The Hansons say it is also there to both remind and educate the public of the events of 9/11.
