Laurel resident Kay Wilson saw thousands of faces come to check out books and use computers during her 30 years working at the Laurel Library. But in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, she would again see one of those faces, this time in the pages of national newspapers.
The man was one of the five American Airlines Flight 77 hijackers, who lived in Laurel in the days leading up to the Pentagon attack.
The hijackers’ link to Laurel is featured in the Laurel Museum’s exhibit that explores the ties between 9/11 and Laurel. It opened Friday and will be on display throughout the month.
“One day after the attack I picked up the paper and recognized one of the faces of the hijackers as someone who had come to the library,” Wilson said. “I don’t remember what name, but I definitely connected him with the face in the paper. It was a shock because he was so polite and nice.”
The five hijackers — Hani Hanjour Khalid al-Mihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Salem al-Hazmi — lived in the Valencia Motel on Route 1 from Aug. 16, 2001, until one day before the attacks. They were regular customers in city establishments including Kinko’s, Giant and the Laurel Library.
“It’s tough to think of the 10th anniversary. It really brings back the sadness,” said Wilson, who retired from the library in November 2001 and now volunteers at the muesum.
Laurel resident Max J. Beilke, 69, a retired Korean and Vietnam War veteran, was killed in the Pentagon on 9/11.
In 2002, the Laurel Museum put out a book of remembrance for the attacks.
“It’s for residents to make notes about what they felt after the fact,” said executive director Lindsey Baker.
Baker said the book has been signed by about 30 people to date and will be on display throughout the month. Many of the notes express gratitude to military personnel and first responders.
“We had been talking about doing something for the 10th anniversary for a while now, for the last year or so,” Baker said. “A lot of what we do here is cover major events and they relate how they affected Laurel and its residents.”
The display includes a 24-by-36-inch panel with photos of the attacks and information about the victims and hijackers and area newspaper articles published after the attacks.
Shirli King, who has lived in Laurel since the 1970s, said nothing since the 1972 Laurel shooting of presidential candidate George Wallace had rocked the city like the 9/11 attacks.
“I thought this was a quiet little town,” King said, adding that she was shocked at the hijackers’ link to Laurel.
King still remembers the near-detrimental effect the attacks had on her Main Street travel business.
“I had just gotten into the office on [9/11] and was getting calls from customers all over the world whose planes had been grounded. I had to refund all those tickets,” King said. “It devastated our business, but we survived.”
Baker said the museum will likely hold exhibits on the major 9/11 anniversaries “so that 20 years from now people who weren’t alive during the attacks can look back and see how Laurel was affected.”
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