THE INSPIRING STORIES OF 9/11 SURVIVORS
‘TRAGEDY LED US TO LOVE’ NOW THEIR REMARKABLE TALE WILL BE TOLD WORLDWIDE IN A HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL
Diane and Nick Marson’s extraordinary story symbolises love and hope in the wake of previously unimaginable terror and grief.
And now, their fateful meeting is being re-enacted in a worldwide hit musical.
For both Diane and Nick – at the time complete strangers living in different continents – September 11, 2001, began on the same Continental Airlines flight from Gatwick, London, to Houston, Texas.
While American-native Diane was on her way home after visiting family in the UK, Nick – then an English oil industry engineer – was flying to the US on a business trip.
“Diane was at the front of the plane and I was down the back,” Nick says.
However, by the time the plane had approached the eastern coastline of North America, the September 11 terror attacks had unfolded, closing US airspace for the first time to all except military aircraft.
Without explanation, Diane and Nick – along with 6700 fellow passengers and crew from 38 flights – found themselves diverted for five days to the remote Canadian town of Gander and its neighbouring communities.
“They told us when we landed that there had been an incident in New York, but it wasn’t until we were taken to a union hall and saw the horrific looping news that we found out what had really happened,” says Nick.
It was at the makeshift shelter in the tiny Newfoundland town of Gambo near Gander that the couple’s paths first crossed.
“Diane was first sent to another shelter, but they didn’t have enough room for her there,” says Nick, now 70.
“The Canadian army had brought in blankets and we met in line for them,” says Diane, now 77. “I think our first conversation was about how they smelt like mothballs.”
Before long, the couple, both married before, had developed a close connection.
“Neither of us was looking for a romantic encounter, that’s for sure,” says Nick. “But we found out we had a lot in common. As the days went on, a bond had formed between us.
“The locals were absolutely wonderful – they opened their hearts, their pantries and their homes – and they welcomed us all,” adds Nick.
When the time came for Diane and Nick to return to their respective homes, they remained in close contact. And before long, Nick was on his way back to the US to visit Diane.
In September 2002, the couple exchanged vows, honeymooning – where else,
but – in Newfoundland.
Now based in Houston and together grandparents of seven, Diane and Nick are counting their blessings.
And the couple cherish every opportunity to watch their story – and that of many other ‘Gander-ites’ – brought to life in the heart-warming musical Come From Away.
“It takes you up, it brings you back down. It’s sad, it’s funny, it’s joyous, and the music enhances it all,” says Diane.
“Everything you see in the show is true,” says Nick, adding with a smile: “It had to be – no-one could have made it up!”
In the 1980s, Beverley Marsh, now 67, made history by becoming one of the world’s first female commercial airline captains. And in her recordmaking 40-year career the trailblazer didn’t just smash through the glass ceiling, she also commanded one of the aircraft diverted during 9/11.
It is this extraordinary feat that has seen the American pilot immortalised in the hit musical Come From Away.
“I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to fly,” Beverley tells New Idea. “My mother would tell me that I’d be in my stroller and when a plane flew overhead I’d point up to it and kick my feet.”
Beverley’s ambition came to life in 1976 when she was hired as American Airlines’ third female pilot. She was made first female captain 10 years later.
But this wasn’t the end of the spotlight for the determined pilot.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Beverley took off from Paris en route to Fort Worth International Airport.
While over the North Atlantic, Beverley received a call that would change her life forever.
“I was completely naive about terrorism. We hadn’t had any training for it,” she says.
Soon after learning of the devastation taking place in New York, Beverley was told New York airspace was closed – then all of the American airspace – and she had to divert the flight.
The death toll would climb to nearly 3000 – including Flight 77 pilot Charles Burlingame, a friend of Beverley’s, who died when his plane crashed into the Pentagon.
“To have his throat slit with a box cutter … It’s just so sick,” she recalls.
Beverley landed in Gander, a small town in Newfoundland, Canada. Thousands of stranded passengers and crew on 38 planes were warmed by the hospitality.
“There wasn’t anything we needed that we didn’t get,” says Beverley. “It reminded us amidst the grief of the human capacity for kindness.”
It’s this generosity that provided inspiration for Come From Away 16 years later. “When it started and my husband and I realised, we just started to sob. We cried so much that we barely saw the show,” Beverley says.
Thankfully, Beverley has had plenty of opportunities to catch up – she’s now seen the musical a whopping 126 times.
Though Beverley officially retired in 2008 at the age of 56 after 32 years at American, at 67 she’s still in the air every week flying a private jet.
“It just never gets old,” she says, smiling. “Sitting at the front of the plane looking out is truly the best seat in the house. I’m very lucky.”
‘HOW MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER’