William Penn Life, 1996 (31. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1996-01-01 / 1. szám
Flight 103 Continued from previous page. Because of this kinship, the members have an emotional release from all of their trying experiences. "You can joke with each other,” Carole said. "You can’t do it unless you’ve actually been through this.” She recalls the first time she laughed after Beth was killed and felt guilty afterward. The meetings have given her and Glenn renewed strength. Despite the difficult times the Johnsons have gone through during the past seven years, they are reaching out to others who have experienced the loss of loved ones. They lend their knowledge of the airline industry and moral support to the National Air Disaster Alliance. This group was formed as a result of the Crash of US Air Flight 427 outside of Pittsburgh in September 1994. This program resembles those which respond to national disasters, to help families of air crash victims. Both Glenn and Carole were on the Mental Health Advisory Board which worked closely with the Allegheny County Mental Health Board, to tailor a program for the victims’ families of Flight 427. They are quick to lend an ear to these victims’ families and can readily share their experiences and empathy. Since the bombing of Flight 103, the Johnsons have gained a small measure of celebrity, and it has changed their lives. People recognize them from their numerous appearances on TV news reports and talk shows and newspaper articles. They have been approached by people with the all too familiar phrase, "you look so familiar to me.” With seven years of this notoriety, they are accustomed to the questions and politely respond to them. The publicity is double-edged, Carole said, sadly emphasizing that this is "publicity we never wanted nor sought.” Thinking about their notoriety, Glenn and Carole agree that things have happened to them that otherwise would not have happened. And some of these things are special. Carole smiles and refers to these as "gifts from Beth.” "She’s just making sure that she gives us some pick-me-ups to help us on our journey through life,” she said. When it became evident that the crash resulted from a bombing, a deliberate act, not just an accident, the Johnson’s perspective on their daughter’s death changed. "We really felt like victims,” Glenn said. "Rage . . . that just intensified,” was Carole’s description. "It was pre-meditated murder, and that made the senselessness that much greater.” Carole and Glenn recalled their feelings of how others treated them after Beth was killed. Friends and acquaintances seemed uncomfortable in their presence, fearing that if they spoke of Beth, it would upset them. Carole said she felt guilty at Beth’s funeral because of the pain she felt they were inflicting on the numerous people who came to express their condolences. Children are just not supposed to die before their parents, and when they die under terrible circumstances as Beth did, it makes the occasion of talking to the parents even more strained. The grieving process can be a slow one. The Johnsons agree that there is no right or wrong way to deal with it. However, it is all right to talk about it and even cry if you want to. January 1996, XVilliam Penn Life, Vage 5 Glenn Johnson (r) stands in front of the cairn at Arlington Cemetery with the cairn’s designer, Donald Boggie. Mr. Boggie presents a 1/20th scale replica of the caim to Mr. Johnson. The cairn On Nov. 3, 1995, the Johnsons joined residents of Lockerbie and more than 1,000 friends and relatives of Flight 103 victims in the dedication of a cairn erected in Arlington National Cemetery. A cairn is a Scottish term for a heap of stones raised as a memorial. The cairn stones, cut from a quarry near Lockerbie, form a tower nearly 11 feet tall. It was a gift from the people of Scotland. The 270 stones, one for each life lost, are cobblestone-sized and appear exactly identical. But upon close inspection, one sees that each stone possesses different characteristics, not unlike the personalities of the victims. At the base of the cairn are the names of the victims. The family support group raised the additional funds needed and were responsible for acquiring the cairn’s location and construction. A group family member was present at the construction site everyday and lent his construction expertise to the endeavor. For the victims’ families and friends, it offered a sense of closure. Having the monument place at Arlington represents American lives taken for their country. Father Keegans and several of the police officers who investigated the case attended the dedication. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the cairn brought solace to those who attended. But it was bittersweet, and many, including the Johnsons, left the ceremony wrought with frustration that the bombers remain free. In his speech during the dedication ceremony, President Clinton vowed the U.S. would "never, never relax our effort” to apprehend the bombers. However, the body language of the government officials in attendance, Carole said, clearly showed discomfort. The issue is a political football tossed from one administration to the next. There are so many variables to consider on a domestic as well as worldwide level, that it seems too hard to conceive an end result to this tragedy. Both Carole and Glenn said the message they received from the large turnout of Cabinet members and congressional leaders at the cairn dedication was one of attempted appeasement. "They were in effect telling us, 'this is your cairn, this is the only justice you’re going to see,”’ Carole said. Sadly, the Johnsons may be correct in their assumption. Although the U.S. and Scotland have overwhelming evidence and an impressive case, the bombers may never be brought to trial. Libya does not have extradition treaties with other countries. The gift Beth Ann Johnson was a natural leader. Her father describes her as a leader who never sought leadership roles. However much she shied from the spotlight, Beth usually got caught in it anyway. Her mother remembers her as one eager to encourage others to showcase their talents. But in doing so, the attention would focus on Beth. She was musical. She sang. She acted. She made friends easily. Beth gained a reputation at Seton Hill College, where she majored in psychology, from her experiences as a resident advisor and her friendships, as someone who could represent the college abroad. She was asked to become a goodwill ambassador for Seton Hill by faculty members and spend a semester at Regent’s College. She and classmate Elyse Saraceni were thrilled with this opportunity to see another culture and learn at the same time. Beth even became a resident advisor at her dorm at Regent’s. Glenn and Carole chuckled at their daughter’s resourcefulness. In her four months abroad, Beth chose to make the most of her time, making memories for a lifetime. She visited Germany, Ireland and France, where she acted as interpreter for her friends. She babysat and organized trips to help defray the cost of her own sightseeing trips. During her time in England, Beth had the chance to locate and visit her English relatives. In fact, Beth tape recorded her visit and was excited about sharing the visit with her family upon her return. The tape was destroyed in the crash. The surprise gift Beth was bringing home, the Johnsons learned from relatives later, was a coalminer’s carbine lantern that had belonged to one of the relatives Beth met. The Johnsons advised the airline of this, and, remarkably, part of the lantern was recovered and identified as the gift Beth was bringing home. Beth visited West Germany and had the chance to meet her longtime penpal. She wrote in her journal of anxious moments while in Germany. In one instance, she was followed by two soldiers at an empty train station. In another, just nine days before the bombing, Beth chose to take a train which was an hour behind an earlier train on the same route that crashed. Her fearful moments in that West German train station and her choice not to take the ill-fated train foreshadowed what was to come. Much of what the Johnsons know of Beth’s time in Europe was seen through their own eyes when they visited her there in October, and pieced together from Beth’s journal (which was recovered in the wreckage), and letters from people she befriended in England. Beth had always assured her parents she would share her experiences when she returned home. Evergreen Seton Hill College remembers Beth and Elyse. The college offers the Beth Ann Johnson Scholarship for junior and senior psychology students. Part of the criteria for the scholarship is the recipient’s service to others. Two evergreen trees were planted outside the dormitory where Beth and Elyse roomed at Seton Hill. The trees are strategically placed at a spot on campus where most of the students can see them. At Christmas, the trees are lit in remembrance of the homecoming Beth anticipated at her parents’ home. Ironically, the first thought that Carole had when Beth told her parents of her opportunity to study abroad was the possibility of a plane crash. Always concerned when Beth was away, Carole must have felt a sense of relief when she and Glenn knew that Beth was on her way home. As Carole recalls, Dec. 21, 1988, was the one day she forgot to worry about Beth. A bombing on the plane was unthinkable. It is still hard to believe that it happened, Carole said. Their memories of Beth have motivated the Johnsons. They live a new life now. However, their life is not solely focused on seeing justice served, but it is their main priority. They work and have other outlets. They have two sons, Glenn and Gene, and are involved in their lives. Beth had a short yet remarkable life. When her parents think of how she would react to everything that has happened since the tragedy, Glenn feels his daughter would be saying: "Why are you making a fuss?” Glenn softly adds that the family has placed on Beth’s grave a plaque which reads: "She shall not have died in vain.”
