It drops in your inbox every Thursday. After that arduous process had ended, there was still a big problem: housing, feeding, and providing basic necessities to all of those people, especially considering they weren't allowed to retrieve their checked baggage from the planes due to security concerns and overall logistics. During World War II, more than 20,000 … All rights reserved. "And to all of you who showed generosity and kindness to the stranded passengers 15 years ago, please accept my best wishes on this occasion and this commemoration," the statement read. 4 years ago. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. © 2020 Public Television 19, Inc. (Kansas City PBS). In Gander, this meant receiving dozens of trans-Atlantic flights that were close enough to the North American coastline to justify not sending them back to Europe, which was considered a safer option. Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, played host to 38 airliners, totalling 6,122 passengers and 473 crew, as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. Never Forget means also remembering what binds us together as Americans and how we have way more in common than not. “Everyone looks at us and says that’s an amazing thing that you did, and the bottom line is I don’t think it was an amazing thing, I think it was the right thing you do,” says Diane Davis, 53, a now-retired teacher who helped 750 people housed at the town's elementary school. “You would think that would be a big improvement,” McKinzie says. People know their neighbors. In a world today seemingly fraught with division, terrorism and hate, they’d do it all over again. "I’ll live with that for the rest of my life.". The film pulls back the emotional layers surrounding the five … Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a special connection to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, as approximately 17,000 people were displaced across the province that day, including 27 planes in St. John's and eight in Stephenville. All rights reserved. On 9/11, how Gander, Newfoundland, welcomed 6,700 strangers These stranded travelers weren't seen as an inconvenience or troublesome foreigners, but as worldwide neighbors in need. When passengers finally saw the destruction, Gander Police Constable Oz Fudge, 62, remembers the gasps. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 9/11 Gander gift. Gander is holding an Ecumenical Service at the Steele Community Centre and a presentation of World Trade Center steel by Tunnel to Towers to commemorate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. And there were some very fortunate people who became friends with McKinzie and Waddle. © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Acton Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Gander welcomed nearly 7,000 stranded passengers, offering food, accommodations and assistance over the course of three days while all commercial flights were grounded. “Everybody was a suspect,” says Des Dillon, 75, then the manager of the Canadian Red Cross in Gander. But now.”. More specifically, how the people of a small town in Canada's province of Newfoundland rose to the occasion when dozens of diverted airliners landed in their small town on that fateful day in September 2001, nearly doubling their population. The steel, which is roughly one metre by one metre in size, was given to the town as a token of gratitude by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named after a New York firefighter killed while helping rescue people from the towers. And it was happening now, not tomorrow, not 6 or 7 hours away. Go to Fox Nation to start a free trial and watch the extensive library from Tomi Lahren, Pete Hegseth, Abby Hornacek, Laura Ingraham, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Andrew Napolitano and many more of your favorite Fox News personalities. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. 9/11 event planned for Gander 'a completely different commemoration', Steel beam from World Trade Center en route to Gander, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. “I remember her saying, ‘I lost a lot of friends today,’ ” McKinzie recalls. It was only then they began to realize the full scope of what the rest of the world had seen on Sept. 11, 2001. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! When Garry Tuff, then acting manager of safety and security for emergency response services at Gander International Airport, saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center, he knew his town of 10,000 people would be impacted. I truly believe that in my heart. We write about air travel sometimes here on The Drive, but obviously, today is a bit different. Many passengers were forced to stay in the town for as long as six days, meaning many would've had to live out of their carry-ons if not for the generosity of the Newfoundlanders. Their simple hospitality to the unexpected house guests drew worldwide accolades and even inspired a Broadway musical. Where I might have had a change of underwear or something, I had wine.”. And by declaring a state of emergency it gave me access to everything in town – realizing that we only have 500 hotel rooms and we got 7,000 people," recounted former Mayor of Gander, Claude Elliott. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. “And they had bags for each of us with a toothbrush, toothpaste and toiletries,” McKinzie says. “That sound I hear all the time, of the shock that’s on their faces as they’re standing there looking at this TV and the look of loss on their faces. “You hear this ‘huh’ when the plane hit the towers,” says Fudge, the town’s police constable. McKinzie and Waddle got to return to the airport for an up-close look at all the parked jetliners thanks to a Knights of Columbus member who was a pilot with a special pass. 2003. When their stay was over, some returned home missing a loved one, others were still in a state of shock from what happened. Don't forget to check your inbox for a new email from us each Thursday.Want to sign up with another email? This content is currently not available in your region. ISBN 978-0-06-055971-7. The children, she said, were held at St. Paul's Intermediate School and local volunteers did their best to make it a memorable time. "We landed in a town of 9,000. Everybody in the tri-state area likely knows somebody who suffered a loss or has a story about why they just happened to miss work that day. But everyone was a guest, too. It's a reminder that even a small act of kindness or compassion can make a difference. Inspirational 9/11 story of the tiny openhearted town that sheltered 7,000: ‘They engaged in the suffering of all of us'. Technology, performance and design delivered to your inbox. And they were so kind about it.”. In the documentary, Bass recalled receiving the first terrifying reports of a terrorist attack in New York York and how she decided to pass on that information to the passengers. "We got some clowns dressed up and … I'll never forget the faces of the kids when we walked in there with [our mascot] Commander Gander," she said. “It was so funny because someone whom you didn’t know would hold up some underwear and you’d hear someone yell, ‘No, I like mine a little higher cut’.”. It took two to three hours to process each jetliner that landed. There’s 1% arseholes everywhere and if this happened where you live, you would help,” says Karen Mills, 54, manager of the Comfort Inn in Gander. “But Newfoundlanders, we’re a different breed in a lot of ways.". It told me that every stove in Gander had been turned on all night long, because they made enough food to feed 7,000 passengers and they only have a population of 9,400.”. Gander is like a second home to him. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She said she stays in touch with the women who stayed in her home, and has even hosted them during trips back to the island. Then, there were the smokers on board, unable to get a fix for hours. Two flights have been diverted so far after spilled beverages shut down engines. © 2020 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Volunteers readied makeshift shelters — every school, gym, community center, church and camp, any place that could fit a planeload of people. With Beverley Bass, Reg Batson, Beulah Cooper, Diane Davis. Robert Steuber, 55, stranded with his wife and elderly father-in-law after their Paris to St. Louis jet diverted, never felt like an outsider. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. However, something not often mentioned along is the work air traffic controllers had to do to make all of that possible. Legal Statement. Showers at the city’s hockey rink were open with barrels of clean towels and clothing. We all got dressed,” McKinzie says. When the United States shut down its airspace, tiny Gander International Airport in Newfoundland opened its runways, taking in 38 wide-body planes on transatlantic routes. “We landed and then another plane landed right after us. As the planes, still packed with passengers, sat for hours at the airport, the town bustled with activity. McKinzie of Leawood and Waddle of Pleasant Hill boarded American Airlines Flight 49 in Paris bound for Dallas. “No matter where you go people are good. You don't need to be at ground zero to help those in need—it can be as simple as listening to somebody, trying to put yourself in their shoes, or offering them something to eat. The town and airport were built by the U.S. military during World War II as a waystation for planes flying to Europe. Required fields are marked *. At a time when the world faced the very worst of humanity, Pat McKinzie and her daughter Kathy Waddle found themselves embraced by the very best. A man reaches to touch a piece of the World Trade Center after a memorial ceremony Sunday, September 11, 2011, in Gander, Newfoundland. Passengers from the 38 grounded planes were sheltered in schools, churches and community centers throughout Gander. Everyone got a sleeping bag and a place to lie down on the hall’s linoleum floor.