Almost 25 years after the town of Gander, Newfoundland, took in nearly 7,000 stranded travellers whose planes were diverted due to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new Heritage Minute is commemorating the Canadian community that welcomed them with open arms.
Historica Canada, in its latest Heritage Minute, a 60-second film series highlighting significant stories from Canadian history, honoured the small community for its humanitarian efforts, which went on to capture the attention of the world when the story was retold through the stage musical Come From Away, which became a major Broadway and West End hit.
Locals who remember the events, along with community members and supporters, attended a celebration at Gander International Airport earlier this week, which Historica Canada described as “a special evening celebrating a remarkable story of generosity, compassion, and community.”
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The event precedes a visit by U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and other officials to Gander that is set to take place on Sept. 11. The town has hosted commemorative events every year since the terror attacks that killed almost 3,000 people when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked and crashed four commercial aircrafts into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
Gander Mayor Percy Farwell said Tuesday, “We also acknowledge the connection that transpired with our little neck of the woods here and how meaningful that turned out to be.”
“(We were) responding to people that were in distress and needed a lot of life’s necessities like food and shelter. Mostly they needed love and compassion because it was a very distressing time,” he added.
The town of about 9,500 people became eternally linked to the 9/11 attacks when its tiny airport took in 38 passenger planes grounded by air traffic control in the immediate aftermath of the coordinated hijackings.
The people of Gander rallied around what they called the “plane people,” converting schools and church halls into shelters and taking many passengers into their own homes while providing food, hot showers, clothing and phones so stranded folk could contact their families.
Twenty-five years later, those taken in by the town continue to express their gratitude.
Every September, Sue Riccardelli and her wife, Maureen Murray, fly a large flag combining a maple leaf and America’s stars and stripes outside their New Jersey home to honour the people of Newfoundland who cared for them and their fellow passengers.
The couple were on their way home from France when their plane was grounded in Gander. They stayed for four days, with more than 230 other passengers from their flight.
During their stay in Gander, the couple made lifelong friends and have since returned at least 10 times to visit them.
Last year, as relations between the U.S. and Canada soured amid a reignited trade war, the couple began bringing their flag to local performances of “Come From Away,” as a symbol of solidarity.
Riccardelli, 65, and Murray, 67, are among a group of Americans expected to return to Gander next week for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
The couple told The Canadian Press they were horrified by U.S. President Donald Trump’s treatment of Canada and plan to bring their flag to Gander and hold it high.
“As Americans, our country was at war, we were far away from home, and here were these people — Canadians, people from Gander — who just gave us their all,” Riccardelli said from their home in New Jersey.
— with files from the Canadian Press
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