Betty Ong
| Betty Ong 鄧月薇 |
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|---|---|
 Ong’s name is located on Panel N-74 of the National September 11 Memorial’s North Pool, along with those of other passengers of Flight 11. |
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| Born | Betty Ann Ong February 5, 1956 San Francisco, California, United States |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 45) World Trade Center, New York City, New York, United States |
Betty Ann Ong (traditional Chinese: 鄧月薇; simplified Chinese: 邓月薇; February 5, 1956 – September 11, 2001) was an American flight attendant onboard American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as part of the September 11 attacks.[1]
[edit] Betty Ong phone call(Conversation between Betty Ong, another flight attendant aboard Flight 11, American Airlines operations/Raleigh reservations, Nydia Gonzalez (Operations Specialist on duty on September 11), and American Airlines emergency line)
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[edit] Biography
Ong was born on February 5, 1956 in San Francisco[3] to Harry Ong, Sr., and Yee-gum Ong. She grew up in San Francisco's Chinatown and graduated from George Washington High School. Her family owned a grocery store on Jackson Street. Ong was the youngest of her surviving siblings: sisters, Cathie Ong Herrera, Gloria Ong Woo and brother Harry Ong.[citation needed] Ong began her career as a flight attendant in 1987. Her professionalism and hard work later earned her the position of a purser, a head flight attendant.[citation needed]
At the time of her death, Ong lived in Andover, Massachusetts.[3] On September 11, 2001, Ong assigned herself to Flight 11, so she could return to Los Angeles and go on vacation to Hawaii with her sister. During the hijacking, she called in to American Airlines' emergency line; she identified herself and alerted the supervisor that the aircraft had been hijacked. Along with fellow flight attendant Amy Sweeney, she relayed the seat numbers of the hijackers. During her 23-minute call, she reported that none of the crew could open the cockpit door, two flight attendants and a passenger had been stabbed and one of the hijackers had sprayed Mace in the first class cabin.[4][5]
[edit] Legacy
On September 21, 2001, some 200 members of the Chinese American community in San Francisco gathered in a small park to pay tribute to Ong. Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown, who was present, gave a proclamation honoring the people who died in the tragedy and called September 21 "Betty Ong Day".[6]
Ong is also memorialized on Gold Mountain, a mural dedicated to Chinese contributions to American history on Romolo Place in North Beach, a street where she used to skateboard and play as a child,[7] and a foundation named in her honor. In 2011, the recreation center in San Francisco's Chinatown where she had played as a child was renamed in her honor.[8]
Betty Ong was played by Jean Yoon in the miniseries The Path to 9/11. At the National 9/11 Memorial, Ong is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-74.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Betty Ong: Unsung Hero of Sept. 11". National Public Radio. September 10, 2004. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3910967. Retrieved 2009-12-06. "Betty Ong, a Chinese-American flight attendant for American Airlines, may have saved untold numbers of lives by telling emergency personnel on the ground what was happening aboard flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001. Her call led to air traffic controllers landing every plane flying over U.S. airspace. ..."
- ^ Ong mistakenly identified herself as on Flight 12, but later corrected herself.
- ^ a b c "North Pool: Panel N-74 - Betty Ann Ong". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=4383. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ "Betty Ong's Call from 9/11 Flight 11". 9/11 Commission. http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/911-ong-tape.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ "9/11 commission hears flight attendant's phone call". CNN. January 27, 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/27/911.commis.call/. Retrieved 2009-12-06. "'The cockpit's not answering,' flight attendant Betty Ong said. 'Somebody's stabbed in business class, and, um, I think there's Mace that we can't breathe. I don't know; I think we are getting hijacked.' Ong, 45, was on board American Airlines Flight 11, the Boeing 767 en route from Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California, that was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center."
- ^ Nancy Pelosi (September 22, 2004). "In Recognition of the Heroism of Betty Ong". United States House of Representatives. http://pelosi.house.gov/pressarchives/releases/Sept04/BettyOng092204.html. Retrieved 2009-12-06. "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Betty Ong, a native daughter of San Francisco's Chinatown and a hero for our Nation on September 11, 2001. ..."
- ^ Jim Herron Zamora (2007-09-12). "S.F. mural depicting 9/11 flight attendant scarred by taggers". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/12/BAH0S2TVJ.DTL. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Betty Ann Ong: 9/11 hero gets lasting tribute". San Francisco Chronicle. October 21, 2011. http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2011/10/21/betty-ann-ong-911-hero-gets-lasting-tribute/?tsp=1.
[edit] External links
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