25 years after the historical 9/11 terrorist attack, Harry Ong, the brother of the flight attendant who made the first reported call of the hijacking, still gets anxious as the anniversary approaches.
“As September 11th approaches each and every year, the tension just builds up and the stress, sometimes debilitation, we never forget,” said Ong. Harry is the oldest brother of Betty Ong, who was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane hijacked by terrorists that fateful day.
20 minutes after Flight 11 left Boston Logan International Airport, Betty Ong called the reservation desk to report someone was stabbed in business class and the cockpit was not answering. Air traffic controllers suspected something was wrong on the flight when they saw that the plane had veered off course.
Betty was the first to report what was happening and then the call ended when Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. “I think we’re getting hijacked.” Ong said she stayed on the phone with the American Airline representatives for 23 minutes.
Six months after the attacks, Betty’s femur was found two blocks from the World Trade Center. The bone found was cremated, and those ashes were interred in the Ong family plot in Colma.
Every year around the anniversary of the attacks, Betty’s family goes on a retreat in her memory, but that’s only a part of what they do to honor her memory. The family has adopted the Chinese Recreation Center, and renamed it to honor Betty Ong.
“It still hurts and the pain and anguish is still there, but we try to move on and be more positive, helping other people through the community and volunteering work,” It’s just a good feeling and to know that we try to promote Betty’s legacy continually,” said Harry Ong.
