Operation Yellow Ribbon
Before Reading
 These passengers, airline and airport crew are posing together before
leaving Gander airport. Why do you think they took a picture together?
 Can you guess what happens in this story?
 Talk with the class about generosity. What is generosity? Have you met
any generous people? Do you know any stories about generosity or
people who were generous?
Gander, Newfoundland, Canada
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a horrible terror attack was
happened in the skies over the Eastern United States. Large passenger airplanes
were used to crash into buildings and kill as many people as possible. Two
planes smashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City,
and one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. A fourth plane, headed
for Washington D.C., fell into a field Pennsylvania after heroic passengers fought
back against the terrorists controlling their plane.
While 9/11 will always be remembered as a tragic day, this story is about people
who showed true kindness and generosity.
This is a story about the people of
the town of Gander in Eastern Canada, and the thousands of airline passengers
who suddenly arrived at their small airport.
When the first hijacked plane, American Airlines 11, crashed into the north tower
of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., many people thought that the crash was a
horrible accident. But, when a second airliner, United 175, hit the south tower
about 15 minutes later, everyone knew that the United States was being attacked.
No one knew how many planes had been hijacked, and every airplane flying to
the United States was ordered to land at the nearest airport immediately.
For 39
of these flights and roughly 6,600 passengers, the nearest airport was in Gander,
Newfoundland, a small town with a population of less than 10,000!
The leaders in Gander now had a big problem: they needed to feed and house
thousands of stranded passengers until the crisis was over, and there was almost
no time to prepare.
In order to take care of the thousands of passengers, all of
the people of Gander had to help.
The community quickly organized a plan to
help the passengers, and “Operation Yellow Ribbon” began.
Gander Airport full on September 11, 2001
The passengers had to wait hours and hours at Gander Airport before they could
get off their planes. Police had to check each plane and every passenger to
make sure that there were no terrorists or weapons.
It took over 24 hours to get
all of the passengers off of the planes. All of the school buses from the area
schools were brought in to take the passengers away from the airport to places
where they could rest.
All of the high schools and meeting halls were closed and made into makeshift
hotels. Thousands of beds and sleeping bags were donated to take care of the
passengers. The high school students all turned into volunteer hosts, and were
told to take care of their “guests.”
The airline passengers were not allowed to remove their checked bags, the large
bags stored under the plane, because of security concerns. All they had were
their small carry-on bags. People in Gander donated clothes, and clothing shops
gave away clothes free. Sick people who needed medicine were given free
medicine from the local drug stores.
Restaurants, bakeries, and regular people
cooked food at home and gave it to the passengers, and the local ice hockey rink
was turned into a huge refrigerator to keep food cold.
Doctors, dentists, and nurses all came to help take care of any sick passengers,
and all of the elderly were taken to stay in volunteer’s homes in Gander.
The
people of Gander put their lives on hold to take care of the passengers.
Over the next five days, the people of Gander took care of the thousands of
airline passengers. They fed them, housed them, and made them feel
comfortable. They made friends with them too, and took them on short trips to
see the beautiful lakes and forests around Gander.
Gander is not a big city, and
most of its people do not have a lot of money, but the passengers couldn’t
believe how generous the people had been to them.
Many of the passengers
tried to give money to Gander residents to thank them for their help, but the
money was always refused.
When the passengers were finally allowed to get back on their planes, they
compared stories of the good times and nice people they had met in Gander.
The passengers on the planes decided to gather some money to set up a college
fund for some of the Gander high school students. In all, over 1 million dollars
was raised, and over 100 Gander high school students have gone to university
with the help of the fund.
The kindness of the people of Gander helped thousands of scared passengers
from all around the world to get through a very difficult time.
Through a terrible
event, a small town showed how people should really treat one another. The
money donated by the passsengers will help young people in Gander go to
university for many years to come, and the friendships made in Gander during
five days in September, 2001 will last a lifetime.
Vocabulary
Complete the sentences with the vocabulary words and sayings below.
get through
raised
college fund
carry-on bags
checked bags
hijacked
gather
put their lives on hold
makeshift
terror
crisis
stranded
1. To pick up or collect something is to _________________________.
2. When terrorists ______________________ the plane, they took control of it.
3. A _____________________ is an emergency situation.
4. The airline passengers ______________________ money for the students; they
gathered money together to help the students.
5. _________________________ are the large bags that passengers need to put in the
bottom of the airplane.
6. To be _________________________ is to be stuck somewhere with no way to leave.
7. ____________________ is extreme fear.
8. To _________________________ something is to finish something very difficult.
9. A _______________________ is a large amount of money used for a student or
students to pay for university.
10. ______________________________ are the smaller bags that passengers can bring
with them on to the plane.
11. Something that is _______________________ is temporary or substitute for another
thing.
12. The Gander residents _________________________________________________; they
stopped their normal lives of working and going to school.
Short Answers
Try to answer each question in a full sentence.
1. How many planes were hijacked on September 11, 2001?
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2. Why did 39 extra planes need to land at Gander International Airport?
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3. Why was it so difficult for the people of Gander to take care of the passengers?
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4. How was the ice rink in Gander used to help take care of the passengers?
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5. What did the passengers do to show their appreciation for the people of
Gander?
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Discussion
On September 11, 2001, the people and the government of Canada helped their
American neighbors greatly. Think about your neighbors. Do you know them?
Are you friends with them? Are they good or bad neighbors? Are you a good
or a bad neighbor?
Writing
The people of Gander were extremely generous to their stranded “guests.” Think
about the community you live in.
How do you think people in your community
would act in a similar situation?
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