(AP)WASHINGTON — When Jill Biden learned that terrorists had struck America on September 11, 2001, she was concerned for the safety of all of her loved ones, not just her husband Joe.The fact that Biden's sister Bonny Jacobs, a United Airlines flight attendant, was aboard one of the four hijacked aircraft that crashed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center in New York, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing over 3,000 people, made her feel "scared to death."As she and her sister recalled that day, Biden told The Associated Press on Saturday, "I went immediately to Bonny's house" after learning that her sister was safe at her home in Pennsylvania.On Sunday, Jill Biden, the current first lady, will speak at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Jacobs will be there as well.
The 40 passengers and crew members on board the United Airlines flight resisted their hijackers, preventing a dreaded attack on the Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol.
"I was so terrified that I contacted Bonny to find out where she was… Jill Biden stated, "I had no idea where she was, whether she was flying or not. Then I learned that she was at home.
Biden had gone to Delaware Technical Community College to teach her class before going right to her sister's home once classes were out.
Joe Biden, who was a senator at the time, was traveling toward Washington on an Amtrak train when his wife called. She shouted out "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" after a jet struck the second World Trade Center tower while they were on the phone.After taking a delayed flight on September 11, Jacobs claimed to have arrived home about 2 a.m. She had a short nap, got the then-11 and then-7-year-old kids ready for school, put her phone away, and then went back to sleep.
So it was a wonderful day when she woke up at noon, she remarked. I consumed my coffee. I was outdoors. "I'm doing nothing today, this day is wonderful," I actually said out.
When she entered the house, she heard the phone beeping. If she'd been watching TV, Jill had left her a message. When she switched it on, she saw reruns of the World Trade Center attack.
Jacobs claimed, "I started to shake," adding that she walked upstairs to dress and "placed my clothes on inside out" before spending the rest of the day in front of the television.
Jill was the first one to arrive at the residence, she continued. She just showed up and was there for me as always despite the fact that I hadn't called to ask her to come.
Jacobs stated that she typically travels on the anniversary of September 11 in remembrance of her lost United Airlines coworkers and as a kind of self-distraction because "it's so sad." She nevertheless desired to assist Shanksville's first lady in the same manner that her older sister had.
It's really special to be with her at this time "added Jacobs. "She is literally always there for me, and she was there for me when it happened. She is my pillar. She is my rock, and everyone should have one too.
And to share that with her in her capacity as a flight attendant and to have her there to support us is quite amazing, according to Jacobs.
The first lady joined Association of Flight Attendants-CWA members to honor the Flight 93 crew members in addition to laying a wreath at the memorial and making remarks.
According to Jill Biden's prepared statements for Sunday, after the shock of 9/11 "cooled into sorrow" and she had spoken with her husband and children, her thoughts wandered to her sister, who is still employed by United Airlines as a flight attendant.
The first lady says, "I understood that the weight of this tragedy would be higher for her because it's a job that she has loved for many years." "When I arrived at her home, I understood I was correct. She had not recently lost coworkers. Friends had left her.
"But I know that, as we learned more about that terrible day, she felt pride for what happened here as well, pride that it was fellow flight attendants and the passengers of United Flight 93 who fought back and who helped stop the plane from taking an incalculable number of lives in our nation's capital," the author continues."
The day was to be honored at the Pentagon by Joe Biden, the current president. The vice president Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff were scheduled to attend the memorial service in New York.
On September 11, when then-Sen. Biden arrived in Washington, smoke from the Pentagon accident could be seen in the sky. He wanted to get to the Senate floor, but the Supreme Court and the Capitol's surrounding complex of offices and government buildings had been evacuated.
Capitol police refused him entry, stating that there was a possibility that the structure would be a target.
Jill Biden claimed that everyone on board United Airlines Flight 93 saved numerous lives, perhaps even her husband's.
In the interview, the first lady stated, "That jet was going for the U.S. Capitol, so I believe it's vital that we travel to Shanksville and remember those who fought: the flight attendants, the captains, the pilots, all of those who fought to preserve those lives."
We will never forget, she claimed she will say in her statement on Sunday. We won't soon forget.
I was anxious about Joe's safety that day, so there were a lot of things going on, but I simply couldn't fathom that my sister was on one of those flights "explained the first lady.
"I'm not sure what adjective to use. I was really frightened, but even saying that doesn't seem powerful enough "Added she.
9/11, according to Jacobs, was "surreal."
"The whole thing was so strange," Jill Biden continued, "but I was just, you know, just praying that she wasn't on one of those flights."
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