Debby Borza’s daughter, 20 year old Deora Bodley, was the youngest female to die on United Flight 93 on September 11th. She had been visiting her good friend, Allie, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University. September 11th was the first day of classes at the college.
Deora was actually booked on a later flight that day but because her friend was just starting classes, she asked Allie to take her to the airport early, to try to fly standby on the earlier flight #93. Deora’s single mom, Debby, was working in San Diego at the time. As she was getting her younger daughter, 10 year old Muriel, ready for school, Debby’s roommate came in to alert her to the attack on The World Trade Center.
Debby remembers thinking, this is like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We’ll always remember this day in the same way we remember the shock of the JFK killing.
Debby was at work when she got a phone call from Deora’s friend, Allie, who hysterically told her, “It’s all my fault”. Allie tearfully told Debby that Deora was on the flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Debby immediately called United Airlines and was told there was no information but that they would call her as soon as anything was known.
Debby left work to go to the Catholic Church across the street, and asked God, “Where is she?”. She heard a quiet voice respond, “She’s with me”. Just then Debby’s cellphone rang. It was a representative for United Airlines, confirming a parent’s worst nightmare.