War Hero
At a time like this America needs heroes. One can be found in Jeremy Glick.

By Seth Gitell, political writer of the Boston Phoenix.
September 17, 2001 9:20 a.m.

he shockwaves of the violence that rocked America Tuesday are reverberating through this New England city. Prompted by President Bush's call to visit a house of worship on Friday, I walked over to the nearby Temple Israel and stumbled upon the memorial service for Newton businessman Richard Ross, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11. Boston-area victims included the likes of the courageous Vietnam veteran pilot of Flight 11, John Ogonowski — the owner of the apartment in which I live.

At a grim time like this America needs heroes. One can be found in Jeremy Glick, age 31, who along with other passengers of United Flight 93 may have saved the White House and countless other lives, investigators believe. Glick, according to press reports, furtively telephoned his wife from the plane. Glick, the father of a 12-week-old daughter, asked his wife if it was true that planes had already crashed into the World Trade Center. When told that it was, Glick and his fellow passengers made a decision — to try and jump the highjackers. "We decided, we're going to do it," Glick told his wife. The plane crashed into the countryside outside Pittsburgh.

Glick's heroic end comes as no surprise to those who knew him at the University of Rochester and afterwards. Glick grew up in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. He was well over six feet tall, strongly built and a judo expert. Glick competed in judo at the highest level — having trained for the Olympics — and would have been a handful for any terrorist. "He was a warm, caring person," says one of friends, adding he was "a protector, a warrior — very, very unique."

It's worth one additional fact to the story. Glick was Jewish — though not necessarily religious and not some Mossad tough guy. Glick's last moments are inspiring because he was a family man, an ordinary guy — an Internet salesman.

All wars have their heroes — and their slogans. Around here in Boston, we remember the famous naval battle between the HMS Shannon and the USS Chesapeake of the coast of the peninsula of Hull, Massachusetts during the War of 1812. The Shannon fired upon the Chesapeake destroying the foresail and mortally wounding Captain James Lawrence. While dying, Lawrence implored his men "Don't give up the ship" — a slogan subsequently adopted by the United States Navy. As America gears up for war with its enemies, we can look to the example of Glick and his Flight 93 comrades (along with Barbara Olson and the more than 200 New York City Fire Fighters and rescue workers). "We're going to do it," they said. And they did.