By Coastal Angler Staff Writer
Relatives of more than a dozen victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attack aboard United Flight 93 traveled to Paris, France to show their solidarity for victims of the November 13, 2015 terror attacks that stunned the world.
The group visited the Bataclan music hall in Paris, where ninety of the 130 terror victims were killed in the attacks.
“My family was directly impacted by the attacks of September 11, and I understood the pain felt by those Parisians who lost their loved ones,” said Hamilton Peterson, of Bethesda, Md., whose father Donald and step-mother Jean were among the 33 passengers and seven crew members killed when United Airlines Flight United 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field after it was hijacked by terrorists. “I felt that we as Americans needed to stand up for the people of France and honor those who lost their lives.”
The families laid a large wreath at the overflowing memorial outside the Bataclan which read, “Paris in Our Prayers: Flight United 93 Vantage Heroes.”
The trip was sponsored by Boston based Vantage Deluxe World Travel, a world-renowned deluxe tour operator known for delivering the best values in deluxe land, river, and small ship travel.
Flight 93 famlies paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks by laying the above wreath outside the Bataclan.
“We invited these families as part of our Vantage Heroes Program,” said Patricia Lewis, co-owner of Vantage Deluxe World Travel, which has sponsored similar trips for survivors of the Boston Marathon Bombings, and families of firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill, Arizona wildfire in 2013. “Our trip had been prescheduled, and in light of the Paris attacks, we weren’t sure if these families still wanted to go but they were more resolute than ever to make this trip.”
Deborah Borza of Columbia, Md. also made the journey. Borza’s 20-year-old daughter Deora Bodley was the youngest passenger killed on United Flight 93.
“I feel empathy for those families who lost loved ones here in Paris,” said Borza. “We all need to support Paris right now and show the rest of the world that love will always conquer hate.”
The United Flight 93 families also visited the beaches of Normandy, France, where nearly 10,000 American soldiers fought and died during the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944. The group participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the American Cemetery, toured Pont-Du-Hoc, and walked the hallowed ground of Omaha Beach. For more information about the Vantage Heroes Program, visit www.vantageheroes.com.
Vantage Deluxe World Travel is a world-renowned deluxe tour operator known for delivering the best values in deluxe land, river, and small ship travel. Vantage’s Discoveries brand offers deluxe land and small ship journeys in North and South America, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia, and the South Pacific.