The death of the man who orchestrated the attack that killed thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, did not heal the wounds of local people who saw their lives forever changed that day. “Right now it doesn’t take away any of the pain or make me feel any better,” said Bianca Angelino Grimaldi, 34, whose fiance Paul Ambrose was aboard United Airlines Flight 77 when it slammed into the Pentagon. Ambrose was a preventive medicine fellow and was working on projects for the surgeon general when he was killed.
“I’m seeing others celebrating or very happy, but I’m sort of at a loss,” Grimaldi said. “I wish I could share in their elation.”
There was an outpouring of prayers and kind wishes on Grimaldi’s Facebook page Monday morning, illustrating that on a day when many Americans embraced the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces, others were recalling those victimized on Sept. 11.
Many D.C. residents took to the streets Sunday night to take part in an emotional outpouring in front of the White House after the bin Laden news was announced. But those directly affected were more subdued.
“In the overall scheme of things, it does not change one thing whatsoever because those of use still alive have to deal with it,” said former airline pilot Tom Heidenberger, whose wife Michele was a flight attendant aboard Flight 77.
The Heidenbergers had been together for nearly 30 years and Michele left behind a teenage son and daughter who are now 24 and 29. Tom still lives in Chevy Chase but the children have moved to New York City.
“At the end of the day, the reality is it doesn’t change one thing at all,” Heidenberger said. “It will not bring back Michele. It will not bring back others who perished.”
Other survivors of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks said it wasn’t the end of the fight.
“The fact that bin Laden is no longer capable of harming another family brings relief,” said Carie Lemack of the District, whose mother was killed in the World Trade Center. “But … his ideology is still very prevalent in some parts of the world.”
William Toti was a Navy captain at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 and aided in rescue efforts following the deadly attack. He said that day changed him forever.
“My daughter, who is 26 years old now, told me less than a month ago, ‘You aren’t the same person you were, you are different now,’ ” Toti said with emotion in his voice.
Toti, now an executive with Hewlett Packard in Herndon, said he still carries the images of death and terror with him 10 years later.
“Maybe this will help bring us all some peace,” he said.
