The Born Dynasty

No... not the Bourne movies, but a young girl who was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1960 and given the name of Dana H. Lendsley. I am unable to find much information about her early days, however, I do know that she graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1983 as a Second lieutenant with a Bachelor's degree in Behavioral Scieces.  

While serving in the USAF Born earned the Basic Parachue Rating Badge, and continued her education by earning her Master of Science degree in experimental psychology, Trinity University, in San Antonio, TX in 1985. This was followed by earning a Master of Arts degree in research psychology at the University of Melbourne in 1991. In 1994 she was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial and organizational psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Her husband is Tim Born, a Lt. Col. United States Marine Corps veteran with 20 years in the Marine Corps. He retired early to assist his mother in caregiving for his father who had suffered a life-threatening health condition. Somewhere along the way he met Dana H. Lendsley, and they married. By 2001 they had two daughters, Hanna and Heather Born. By then Dana Born was a Lt. Col. in the USAF.

September 11, 2001

A photograph of the twin towers on fire after hit by aircraft in New York City on 9-11-2001.

On this day Lt. Col. Dana H. Born was serving at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling near the Pentagon, and her husband Tim Born was in his office in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Tim Born had dropped off their two daughters, Hanna age 3 and Heather 4 months old, at the Pentagon Day care center before heading to his office at 6:30 a.m.

At 9:37:46 a.m. EDT American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

A photograph of the side of the Pentagon on 9-11-2001.

Lt. Col. Dana Born could see the smoke and flames from across the Potomac River, and she immediately called her husband Tim. He was already on his way to rescue their two children from the day care in the Pentagon. He told her he was on his way and was going to figure out how to get the kids. Lt. Col. Dana Born then went into her "commander mode," along with her team, to do what they were trained to do.

It took Tim Born 45 minutes to naviagate his way to the Pentagon, but by the time he got there the guards told him that the day care had already been evacuated, and that they were relocated to a position half a mile north of the building. Tim Born was then  directed to where the day care center had been relocated after being evacuated. After searching the area he finally found the day care children at a park on the banks of a small tributary of the Potomic called the Boundary Channel.

Tim later recounted that behind him was total destruction, chaos and death, and in front of him was a ring of cribs each holding two or three young infants in each. Relief for the children's mother did not come until she learned her daughters were safe some nine hours after the attack on the Pentagon.

How were the children evacuated?

A chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, told of an incident that never made the news.  A daycare facility inside the Pentagon had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs.  The daycare supervisor, looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do.  There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants, that would need to be taken out with the cribs.

Three days later Tim returned to the day care center in the Pentagon to thank the day care director for getting all of the kids to safety. He also asked her how she was able to evacuate everyone so far so quickly. And this was her story:

"She told Tim that soon after the airplane hit there was a loud banging on the door of the day care. The director opened the door and there was a young Marine dead center of the door, and he uttered four words: 'How can we help?'" After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, "Well, here we are, on our own."

Two minutes later that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow. Some of the Marines grabbed the heavy cribs and the others started grabbing up the toddlers. The director and her staff then helped take all of the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomic River. Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside of the Pentagon the Marines stopped in the park, and then they did a fabulous thing: The formed a circle with the cribs, which were very sturdy and heavy, and inside of the circle of cribs put the toddlers to keep them from wandering off."' Outside of the circle of cribs stood the 40 Marines, forming a permeter around the children and waiting for instructions. They remained there until the parents could be notified and come and get their infants and toddlers.

Years Later

Like for many families of that fateful day, many people have wondered what happened to all of those kids. Like all the families, the Born family has deep and long lasting feelings about what happened that day in 2001. Lt. Col. Dana had been considering retiring at the time of the attack, but instead remained in the Air Force until 2013, marking 30 years of service.

Brigadier General Dana H. Born was the first woman to be the Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was also the first female graduate from any military academy to achieve the rank of General. For his part, Tim Born spent the next 18 years of his life as the proverbial "Mr. Mom" to his two young daughters, and he admits this was both the most challenging and most rewarding time of his life. He was always fond of saying: "It was easier to get 200 Marines to the field for a week than to get two little girls onto the school bus each morning." 

The terrible events of September 11, 2001, have left an indelible mark on Tim and his family. In fact, the dedication to service for both his wife Dana and himself played a foundational role in assisting, mentoring and shaping the next generation of men and women dedicated to serving in the military. His two daughters, Hannah and Heather, have followed in their parents footsteps.

Hanna graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and is serveing as an Air Force helicopter pilot. Her sister Heather graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and serves as a Marine Corps officer in Okinawa, Japan. Their commitment to the military underscores the eduring impact of Tim and Dana's choices. By prioritizing family while upholding the values of duty and sacrifice, they have passed down a legacy the extends far beyond their own careers.

Hanna and Heather Born at the Navy AirForce game 9-11-2021.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of aviation. If you enjoyed the story, please share it with all of your friends. And, if you are new to this blog, sign up to receive your own weekly blog post here: Subscribe here!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!