Jonathan V. Last, online editor
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A FEW WEEKS AGO I wrote about America's need to remember the heroes of Flight 93. At the local level, a handful of places have made moves to memorialize Flight 93 and at the federal level, Rep. Jack Murtha is trying to create a national memorial, although when I spoke with his press secretary, he was vague about when, where, and in what form this might happen.
The most interesting suggestions came from readers. Here are some of the best:
On September 17, 2001, I wrote a letter to President George W. Bush. By that date it had become apparent that the people on board United Flight 93 had done something extraordinary. In my letter to President Bush I nominated the Glicks, Burnetts, and Binghams of United Flight 93 for the highest civilian award that can be bestowed: The Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.
Mark Zugelder
I have used the phrase "United 93 Militia" from the beginning.
John Howland
Since, by law, the men on board Flight 93 were members of the Armed Forces of the U.S. as members of the unorganized militia (10 U.S. Code section 311) I feel that in addition to whatever monument is erected that they be formally posthumously decorated with an appropriate citation.
I suggest the Legion of Merit.
Theodore Roosevelt
They were not civilians. They were the militia, in the tradition of Captain Parker's company at Concord. When faced with an enemy intent on destroying their nation they organized, took up what few weapons were at
hand, and counter-attacked. Though they knew their own lives were forfeit, they engaged and destroyed a better trained and equipped foe. They saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of their fellow countrymen. Like you, I believe the target was likely the Capitol building, the easiest target to see from the air, and the easiest to approach by flying down the mall.
The men on 93 didn't wear uniforms, they didn't get a paycheck or shop at the PX. They didn't go through basic training. They didn't swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. They just did it.
If any one of them had been inactive reserve, they'd have been awarded the Medal of Honor. As civilians, they've been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The CGM is America's oldest medal, and was first awarded to George Washington. It is also our highest civilian medal, but in recent decades it's become a life achievement award for celebrities like Bob Hope, John Wayne, and cartoonist Charles Shultz. Those people lived exemplary lives, but they died peacefully in their beds. We owe more to the heroes of 93. They died fighting for their country. They should receive military honors.
There is precedent for awarding the Medal of Honor to civilians. The only woman to receive the medal, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, was a civilian surgeon with the Union army during the Civil War. That could be repeated with the passengers of 93, who struck the first blow for America in this new war. Better still, they could, with the consent of their families, be retroactively inducted into the military at such a rank as befits their age, skills, and education, effective Sept. 10 2001. Their families would thus be eligible for the survivor's benefits that should go along with losing a loved one in service to our country, and they would be posthumously eligible for the honors that they deserve.
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