As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack settles on me, I say a little prayer for one of the men I know pretty well who died on thtat day..
His name is Mark Bingham and he was such a force of nature that I have difficulty trying to paint a picture that captures his drive, incredible sense of humor and abiding honesty
Mar Bingham sits in my pantheon of real heroes. He did not go quietly and I’m thankful for that. Mark was one off the passengers who fought back on flight 93 which crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA.
Bimngham was compassionate, strong as a bull, intellectually and athletically gifted.i worked with Mark helping him launch several products at Demo. Looking back, Mark could market technology better than most of the people I sat down with in my office’s conference room. He understood my dislike of powerPoint pitches and would laser focus on the things that made his products unique and newsworthy. Mark also knew about my wicked sense of humor.In most of the product pitch meetings, Mark WOULD tell me what he was going to tell me, tell me then tell me what he told me. All signs of a very good briefer.
I knew about Binghams rugby playing at the University of California and his role helping to create a gay men's rugby club in San Francisco.I greatly admired Mark’s spirit, kindness and determination.
Mark was almost late for his flight from Newark to SFO, but charged ahead, making the flight with time to spare. When it was apartment to Mark they were being hijacked, his first instincts were to call his family and tell them he loved themHis mother Alice Hoagland had been a UAl flight attendant and knew what had happened to the other planes that crashed that day. She stayed on the phone long enough to hear her son discussing plans to retake the cockpit with fellow passengers Tom Burnett and others.
Using a serving cart as a battering ram, Mark and the others breached the cockpit before the hijackers crashed the plane.
Mark was an intense Cal alumni. Following the annual Cal/Stanford game in 2001 the Stanford mascot, someone dressed as a tree, said some unkind words about Cal and Mark kicked him in the ass.
And That’s one of my favorite Mark Bingham stories.
But wait there’s more. Mark Bingham and other passengers who fought back were awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Bingham’s legacy lives on and the shadow of his courage, numerous accomplishments and friendship abide.
To Mark’s spirit “With You!”-- jim forbes on 9 september 2021
Comments