Twenty-five years later, September 11, 2001, remains one of the darkest days in American history. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks, including eight people who had ties to Iowa.
Their stories span the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and American Airlines Flight 77.
James Cleere, 55, of Newton, was in New York for business and was staying at the Marriott World Trade Center when the attacks began. Cleere worked for Marsh & McLennan. He called his wife in Newton twice after the first plane struck, telling her he was safe and would be coming home.
Karen Ann Kincaid, 40, a Waverly native, was an attorney and passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 77. The plane crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. Kincaid was a graduate of Central College and Drake University Law School.
Mari-Rae Sopper, 35, formerly of Ames, was also aboard Flight 77. A former Iowa State University gymnast, Sopper had accepted a position as women’s gymnastics coach at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was traveling to begin what she described as a new chapter in her life.
Michael Tinley, 56, formerly of Council Bluffs, was working for Marsh & McLennan on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center. Tinley was known as a father, photographer and technology enthusiast. He made a phone call to his sister shortly before Flight 11 struck the tower.
Army Specialist Craig Scott Amundson, 28, of Cedar Rapids, was serving at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. Amundson was raised in Anamosa and attended the University of Iowa. He was later awarded the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Award.
Lt. Col. Gary F. Smith, 55, a Council Bluffs native, also died at the Pentagon. Smith had a long military career that included service in Vietnam and other assignments before retiring from the Army in 1991.
Timothy Aaron Haviland, 41, formerly of Ames, worked as a software developer and computer programmer for Marsh & McLennan. He had an office on the 96th floor of the World Trade Center and was killed when the tower was attacked.
Sandra Dawn Teague, 31, formerly of Des Moines and West Des Moines, was a physical therapist and a former student at Des Moines University. She was a passenger aboard Flight 77 and was beginning a planned vacation to Australia when the plane was hijacked. She had previously worked at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, where coworkers remembered her as well-liked and respected.
These eight Iowans were among thousands whose lives were cut short that morning. Their connections to communities across Iowa—from Newton and Waverly to Ames, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs and Des Moines—serve as a reminder that the events of September 11 reached far beyond New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
