A Florida man who recently became a dad was gifted a handwritten letter penned by his mother months before she was tragically killed in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Jevon Castrillo, 30, was only in elementary school when his heroic flight attendant mother, CeeCee Lyles, went down with United Airlines Flight 93 after it was hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.
None of the 40 people on board survived. Lyles, a retired police officer in Fort Pierce, Fla., was working on board the plane as a flight attendant.
Castrillo, now a father to a 3-month-old, clings to the faded memories he still has of his mother and was floored when his kindergarten teacher dropped off a letter his mother had written to her in March 2001 praising his blossoming reading comprehension skills.
“Dear Ms. Thurman, Jevon read a book last night that he brought home from the library. He read it from cover to cover. I told him I would write you a note and tell you what an outstanding job he did. We are very proud of him and will continue to work with him at home. Again, thank you for your dedication and courage for the job that you do. Cee Cee Lyles,” Castrillo read aloud to WPTV.
Castrillo teared up halfway through as he recalled the letter felt like “something she would definitely say.”
His former teacher, Tammy Thurman, held onto the letter even as she moved between schools in the county. The original envelope was gone, but the letter was perfectly intact.
“As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom. She was a wonderful woman and you were a wonderful student,” Thurman told Castrillo, according to the outlet.
A statue of Lyles was erected in her likeness in Fort Pierce, where Castrillo lives to this day.
Flight 93 is often the least remembered of the four commercial planes taken over by Al-Qaeda terrorists on 9/11. Two were flown into the World Trade Center and the third crashed into the Pentagon.
Lyles tried to call her family during the chaos, but could only reach her husband’s voicemail at first.
“They’ve hijacked the plane, I’m trying to be calm. We’re turned around, and I’ve heard that there’s planes that’s been, been flown into the World Trade Center. I hope to be able to see your face again baby. I love you,” she said, according to the 9/11 Memorial.
She left the voicemail at 9:47 a.m. In New York City, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed just 10 minutes later.
Lyles finally reached her panicked husband just after 10 a.m., and relayed a plan that she and others on the doomed flight were trying to devise to take back the plane from the hijackers — or die trying.
Lyles said they may try throwing boiling hot water at the hijackers.
After the couple prayed together, Lyles said, “We’re getting ready to do it now. It’s happening!” before hanging up.
The valiant patriots aboard Flight 93 did what they could to stave off the fourth dreaded attack. Todd Beamer, one of the passengers on board, is credited with speaking the final words captured over the flight’s air phone operator.
“Are you guys ready? Okay. Let’s roll!” Beamer said before the line went dead.
The plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m., mere minutes after Lyles finished her final conversation with her husband.
The flight was headed towards Washington, DC, and many speculate that the terrorists planned on striking the US Capitol, Washington Monument, or the White House — but were thwarted by the brave passengers and staffers on board.
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