Plaintiffs' Statements   Tara Bane Clara Chirchirillo Grace Godshalk Fiona Havlish Theresann Lostrangio Ellen Saracini Russa Steiner   Statement of Ellen Saracini   Good afternoon. My name is Ellen Saracini. My husband was Victor J. Saracini, Captain of United Flight 175 which was brutally hijacked and struck the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th at 9:03 am. I last spoke with Victor on the evening of the 10th. He was upbeat. He was positive. He made me laugh as he usually did whenever he called. And he told me that he loved me, as he always did. As Victor arrived at Boston Airport early on Septe,ber 11th the day must have seemed to him pleasant and ordinary in every way. Surely he enjoyed that beautiful fall sunshine which bathed the entire east coast from Boston to Washington, including our home in Pennsylvania. The day certainly seemed ordinary to me as I got our two daughters off to school. But little did Victor realize that he was about to find himself in the most forward trench of a terrible new kind of war - a war for which our nation and the world were totally unprepared. Little did I realize, that, for myself and the girls, there would never again be an ordinary day. Vic was a good man, no Vic was a great man. He served his country proudly as a Naval Aviator. He was a highly respected pilot at United Airlines, where he loved his job as few men can say they do. He always said he had the best seat in the house. He was a true friend to so many. He was a loving father and devoted husband. He loved aviation. He loved music and playing his guitar. He loved all his diverse hobbies. He loved and worshiped his God. But most of all he loved ordinary days with his family, doing all the ordinary insignificant things that Dads do with their little girls. For the girls and myself there will be no more ordinary days. For the thousands of families we represent here today, there will be no more ordinary days. Just days of longing, days of emptiness and days of wondering what might have been. Surely, we are all joined forever in our sorrow and our pain. Our objective here today is not monetary gain, for no amount of money could ever replace our losses. Our objective here today is not to bring additional harm on any American corporation or organization, for we are all common victims, and we have all suffered enough. Our objective rather is to do what we can, as a group, to prevent future abominations. Money is the root of all evil. Money is the fuel of terrorism. Without money terror is stalled in its tracks. Although the vast cache of wealth which financed September 11th lies frozen in dozens of accounts worldwide, over time much of it could find its way back to the organs of terror. This must never be allowed to happen! Never! Our Class Action suit is designed to tie these funds up in litigation and generate liens which, hopefully, will prevent them from ever again being used to fund cowardly attacks on innocent people. We harbor no false illusions. We know this is a difficult path we choose, and we know that any success we achieve may be limited. But we must start somewhere. We must do something. I could not live with myself if I sat back and did nothing and someone else had to go through this unending pain we are experiencing. I know Victor did everything in his power to stop this from happening. Victor, just like all of our lost loved ones, was strong, determined and courageous. Surely, I know he would approve of what we do. Thank you and God Bless You. Ellen Saracini February 19, 2002         Return to Home Page | Site Design by Ravine Design & Advertising