Every time, September 11 comes around, Harry Ong gets nervous.
“As September 11th approaches each and every year, the tension just builds up and the stress, sometimes debilitation. We never forget.”
Harry Ong is the oldest brother of Flight Attendant Betty Ong. Betty Ong worked on Flight 11. She calmly relayed important information during the hijacking, relaying critical information, helping to identify the hijackers and leading the FAA to close US Airspace. The 9/11 commission called her a hero. Ong died when Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center.
I think is a particularly good time to remember Ong, particularly as Chinese Americans are considered suspicious in the current environment. Ong was a native of San Francisco Chinatown. San Francisco named the Betty Ong Chinese Recreation Center in Chinatown in her honor. In addition, the Betty Ong foundation has been created to commemorate her. You can find out more about Betty Ong at her Wikipedia page and at her 9/11 Memorial page.
(photo credit: www.bettyong.org)
