For millions of Americans, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have faded into history, and many younger citizens were not yet born.
For Air Force Capt. Hanna Born, however, the 2,977 people murdered that day are lives to be remembered individually, one mile and one name at a time.
Born, an instructor pilot assigned to the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Alabama, has launched Run to Remember, a social media journey in which she runs a mile for every person lost.
Her connection to the attack is deeply personal and helped inspire her decision to serve in uniform.
Just before her third birthday, Born and her four month old sister were inside the Pentagon Child Development Center when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building.
She remembers the day through brief flashes, including “overwhelming confusion” as smoke, noise and fear consumed the scene.
“As soon as we stepped foot outside, starting to see and hear and smell everything that was so different, just confusion through and through,” she said. “And then I remember my dad coming to pick us up, and like finally just having some sense of comfort.”
A few days later, Born returned to the Pentagon with her father and sister, giving the family an opportunity to process what had happened and witness the response.
Her father also learned how daycare workers evacuated the children into an area that “felt like a sanctuary.”
Born and her sister were among roughly 140 children who escaped the daycare safely, thanks to what she calls the “unsung heroes” of September 11.
Workers and unidentified volunteers moved children away from danger while babies were placed into cribs and carried about half a mile toward the Potomac River.
The rescuers arranged the cribs in a circle and established a protective perimeter until parents could arrive.
Their identities remain unknown, but their actions reflected the kind of courage that appears when ordinary Americans confront an unimaginable crisis.
No child inside the Pentagon daycare was killed.
“We just know that when the moment called for it, they had the presence of mind to realize that there were people there that needed help,” Born said. “Instead of just getting themselves to safety, they came back for us.”
“I think that’s just credit to the character and the ingenuity of the people that worked at the Pentagon that day, both in uniform and out of uniform, to be able to come up with a plan when the moment called for it,” she continued.
“I mean, none of them woke up that morning expecting to need to do anything like that, but it was just innate inside of them that that’s how they responded in that situation.”
As the 25th anniversary approached, Born began reflecting on the national promise to never forget and whether America was still keeping it.
She remembered arriving at high school on one September 11 anniversary and seeing the American flag still flying at full staff rather than lowered to honor the nearly 3,000 dead.
“I missed the first couple classes that day, just trying to track down a janitor and talk with the principal and have that amended so that they would lower the flag in respect, and they did,” she said.
“I think that year was kind of the first spot where I thought, are we still continuing this promise that we made to never forget?”
As more anniversaries seemed to pass with less public recognition, Born searched for a way to make remembrance part of her daily life.
Run to Remember became that mission, combining physical endurance with the far heavier emotional responsibility of learning about each victim.
Born has completed more than 1,000 miles since beginning the project last year.
Although she initially hoped to finish all 2,977 miles before the 25th anniversary, she decided that honoring each person properly mattered more than racing through the distance for a deadline.
“We might hear stories about specific people that have been more publicized over the past 25 years, but this is a mile for every person, a mile for every name,” she said. “It’s a name you may not have heard a story about yet.”
The Run to Remember account has attracted nearly 42,000 followers, proving that plenty of Americans still understand the duty of remembrance even if some institutions need an occasional nudge.
Supporters can participate by contacting Born and running a mile in honor of an assigned victim.
“Send me a message. I’ll send you a name to run for,” Born said.
“This doesn’t have to be my project. This is everybody’s effort, so that we can continue to honor them.”
Born’s mission is not merely about mileage, athletic performance or social media numbers.
It is about restoring names and stories to a death toll, honoring those who ran toward danger and keeping faith with the solemn promise America made after September 11: never forget.
