{"id":147203,"date":"2026-09-11T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T16:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=147203"},"modified":"2026-09-12T06:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T10:30:46","slug":"harry-ong-jr-on-september-11th-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=147203","title":{"rendered":"Harry Ong Jr. on September 11th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From there<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got up and turned on the TV, and there was just this big black hole in the World Trade Center. And there was just smoke billowing out of it. I called my sister Cathy I said, \u201cYou might wanna wake up, turn in your TV and take a look at what they\u2019re showing.\u201d The commentator\u2019s saying that it\u2019s an American Airlines plane. And I casually asked Cathy, I said, \u201cDo you know where Betty is?\u201d And she says, \u201cBetty\u2019s supposed to be flying out of Boston.\u201d And I said, \u201cDo you think Betty is on that plane?\u201d We just didn\u2019t know. So I left a phone call on her cellphone, just asking her when she\u2019s landed or anywhere you\u2019re on the ground, to just give us a call and tell us you\u2019re okay. And there was no call from Betty. I called American Airlines, and it was only then that it was confirmed that Betty was on the flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just want to add, through your passing, Betty, our family\u2019s gotten very very close. Dad, who\u2019s quite stoic, doesn\u2019t really say a whole lot, man of the family, one day told us that he cries himself to sleep. Even to this day, he just keeps staying up watching TV, hoping somehow that you\u2019ll reappear. And we\u2019re all still waiting for that phone call from you to tell us that you\u2019re okay. We just miss you a whole lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may find the transcript of Betty Ong\u2019s conversation reporting the hijacking from the American airlines plane here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>

Every year on 9\/11 I take the kids to ground zero to write down names engraved in the memorial. Then we go home and look them up to talk about their stories. Today, my youngest was writing a name when a woman walked up and asked her what she was doing. When she explained, the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Xd8ZknmOX1<\/a><\/p>— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) September 12, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>