Frisco Woman Remembers Sister Lost On 9/11
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The news of Osama bin Laden's death struck a deep cord with families of those who died on September 11th. CBS 11 News spoke with a Frisco woman, who lost her sister that day.
It's been almost 10 years since Vaughn Lohec lost her sister.
Lauren Grandcolas was flying back to California after attending her grandmother's funeral. She was aboard United Airlines flight 93.
"That's mental torture, to live with and deal with, to think of the time that she spent on the plane," Vaughn said.
Terrorists had hijacked the plane her 38-year-old sister was on, but their plan of crashing into another target was thwarted when passengers intervened. Flight 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
"I want to believe that Lauren had found some peace on the plane that day, as did the other passengers," Vaughn hoped aloud.
Vaughn says she always assumed the man behind the attacks, Osama bin Laden, would soon be captured. "With the strength of our military and our intelligence, we as Americans thought it would happen quickly."
But, as the years wore on, Vaughn thought the capture may never happen… that is, until she heard the news late Sunday night.
"I just, at first, didn't believe it," she said.
While Vaughn says the killing of bin Laden doesn't take away the pain of losing her sister, it gives her some closure. "I'm celebrating the justice behind it, in honor of my sister."
And, like many people, it makes Vaughn proud. "Today, I would hope that everyone would put a smile on their face, be proud to be an American, be proud of our troops," she said.
Grandcolas' family has also been involved with the construction of the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania. It's scheduled to be dedicated later this year, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
