Greg,(click here for more Greg) a fellow crew member and friend introduced me to Deb Calimano. Deb is a Flight Attendant who is responsible for a new memorial honoring the 33 Crew Members who lost their lives on September 11. There will be a special dedication this year at Eagle Rock in NJ.I asked Deb to answer a few questions for all of us:

The Flying Pinto: What inspired you to take this journey? And, what kept you going all these years?

Deb Calimano: Every year I go to the memorial service at Eagle Rock. It is a beautiful memorial that over looks NYC. Every year at the service people remembered the fire fighters, police, all the people that died in the line of duty, and of course the people in the buildings. In talking about that day they only mentioned “the crew” in the same sentence when they talked about the passengers on the airplanes. I was mad! We died first in the line of duty, in a brutal way, and nobody remembers that. Well, we do! Our family’s do! So I wanted to make people know this. I wondered how I could do that. So I figured why not put a memorial for the flight crews here, so people can see this. I was very blessed to know people that I could contact and make this happen. And it happened. YEAH! The memorial will be a pilots hat, that Barbara Evans from corporate in Houston sent to me, and flight attendant wings. They will be bronzed, and behind them the 33 crew members names will be engraved.
FP: Where were you on September 11, 2001. Where you flying?

Deb: I was not flying that day. I watched that day unfold at this reservation. It took a couple of days for all this to sink in. I remember all I kept thinking about was the crews. That was me, I thought. That was my friends. I cried a lot. And still think of them, with tears in my eyes. I am so excited, and blessed that this is happening. My next goal is to get four memorials for the crews. Two at ground zero, one at the Pentagon, and one in PA.
FP: What were some of the bigger road blocks you found yourself up against?

Deb: To be honest, there were absolutely no road blocks in making this happen. Because it is the right thing to do. I presented this to the county executive, Joseph DiVincenzo, he was great. He said “that should have been there when we built this memorial”.

FP: Why do you think the crew members weren’t recognized in the first place? Did anyone ever answer that question?

Deb: People don’t recognize us. Why I really don’t know. They think we are there just to pop a soda can, and give them food. It is time we let people know the kind of training we have. We are 911, we are fire fighters, cops, doctors, social workers, etc. You name it, we do it.

FP: What time will the dedication begin and is this dedication open to all?

Deb: The service is at the Eagle Rock Reservation. We will be dedicating the memorial, and I will be speaking. I would love for all to come. Come in uniform. Starts and 8am. Go to “Eagle Rock Memorial.com” page 2 for directions. Click on Remembrance and Rebirth to see the site. It is only 15miles from the airport. Anyone can contact me if they have any questions. It is going to be great. Lets let the world know what we all do. Let them know, none of us took this job to “pop a soda can”. The date is Friday, Sept 11th. Hope to see you all there. God Bless, Fly Safe!

(Hope to see you all there! For directions click “here.”)

There is also a beautiful memorial dedicated to the pilots and flight attendants who lost there lives on 9/11 in Grapvine, TX. Head over to Aircrewbuzz.com to see a picture and read all about it.