A Florida man who’s just become a new dad holds onto precious memories of his mom, a hero of the 9/11 attacks. Jevon Castrillo, 30, lost his mother, CeeCee Lyles, when terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Now, 24 years later, he finally received a heartfelt letter she wrote by hand just months before that tragic day.
Castrillo was only in elementary school back then. His mom, a former police officer from Fort Pierce, Florida, worked as a flight attendant on the doomed flight. When al-Qaeda hijackers took over, none of the 40 people on board survived. The plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back, likely preventing another attack on a Washington, D.C., target like the Capitol or White House.
Recently, Castrillo’s life changed again—he welcomed a 3-month-old baby. That’s when his old kindergarten teacher, Tammy Thurman, surprised him with the letter. She had kept it safe through school moves, even though the envelope was long gone. The note, from March 2001, praised Castrillo’s growing reading skills.
“Dear Ms. Thurman, Jevon read a book last night that he brought home from the library. He read it from cover to cover,” Lyles wrote. She added how proud they were and thanked the teacher for her dedication. Reading it aloud to WPTV, Castrillo choked up. “It felt like something she would definitely say,” he shared, tears in his eyes.
Thurman told him, “As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom. She was a wonderful woman, and you were a wonderful student.” The gesture hit hard for Castrillo, who treasures his faded memories of Lyles. Today, a statue honors her in Fort Pierce, where he still lives.
Flight 93 often gets overshadowed in 9/11 stories. While two hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and another hit the Pentagon, the brave souls on Flight 93 changed the outcome. Lyles called her husband during the chaos, first leaving a voicemail: “They’ve hijacked the plane. I’m trying to be calm… I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. I love you.” That was at 9:47 a.m., just before the World Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed.
She reached him again around 10 a.m., whispering about their plan to fight back—maybe even with boiling water on the hijackers. After praying together, she said, “We’re getting ready to do it now. It’s happening!” Passenger Todd Beamer rallied others with his famous words: “Are you guys ready? Okay. Let’s roll!” The plane went down at 10:03 a.m., thwarting the terrorists’ plot.
Stories like Castrillo’s remind us of the human side of the 9/11 terror attacks—the love, courage, and loss that families still feel today.
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