National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

Commission Members
Thomas H. Kean Chair
Lee H. Hamilton Vice Chair
Richard Ben-Venisle
Max Cleland
Fred F. Fielding
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton
John F. Lehman
Timothy J. Roemer
James R. Thompson
Executive Director
Philip D. Zelikow May 21,2003

Commission Members,
A note of introduction, my name is Thomas J. Meehan III, the father of
Colleen Ann Meehan Barkow, age 26, who perished on 9.11.01 . Colleen
was an employee of Cantor-Fitzgerald,a project manager, working on the
103rd Floor of the WTC, Tower One.

Colleen was married on September 17,2000, her partial remains (upper

torso) was found on September 17th, 2001, the date which was to have
been her first wedding anniversary. The images of her death, and the
anguish and pain of this loss remain with her mother, Joann,
Brother, Daryl and husband Dan, and stepchildren Crystal and Kayla. Our
tears continue to flow. My wife and I have been married for 35 years, we
have lost an infant, and buried our parents, none of these losses prepared
us for the loss of Colleen. There was no contact with her on
that tragic day, so there are questions which remain unanswered. Because
we are not her legal next of kin, information has not always been available
to her extended family members.

I hope that the commission will in some way provide those answers,
which fill our minds each day.

There are those who not directly affected by the tragic loss of 3000+ lives
in New York, PA, and Washington DC, who have returned to their "normal
lives" and question why we the families of 9.11.01 have not. One only has
to listen to the pleas of the 9.11.01 families who seek to know how
this tragedy occurred, and are determined to prevent other families from
enduring the eternal pain and suffering of this kind of loss, to understand
why we have not returned to a "normal life".
 I applaud the efforts of those family members, each who have taken up a
cause to help secure the necessary changes to prevent such a tragedy
from ever happening again. They have become advocates for the changes
necessary to insure that the lives lost on 9.11.01 were not in vain, and the
errors and mistakes which contributed to the events of 9.11.01 are
not repeated.

I hope that the commission will remember the solemn pledge made in the
aftermath of 9.11.01, "Never to Forget", that they will do all in their power
to secure the changes necessary so that no American family ever has to
endure what the families of 9.11.01 continue to endure.

Our lives have forever been changed, for our family their will be no
grandchildren, no more memories of our daughter fulfilling her dreams
and goals, families have been destroyed, and what has been lost can never
be replaced. So many lives, the promise of each them and what they had
yet to offer, I hope the commission will remember "Never to Forget".

I have attached a letter I have written to the President, I hope that each of
you will find the time to
read it

With A Sadden Heart & Tears,

Thomas J. Meehan III
9/11 P e r s o n a l Privacy

Never Forget 9.11.01

Colleen Ann Meehan Barkow Age 26 WTC
March 13,1975 - September 11,2001
President Bush,
A note of introduction, my name is Thomas J. Meehan III, The father of Colleen
Ann Meehan Barkow, age 26,
Who perished on 9.11.01 at the WTC.. Colleen was an employee of Cantor-
Fitzgerald, a project manager.

PA Executive Director Joseph Seymour, today was quoted as saying "This is a

tremendous void that we are going to have to fill up," while giving a media tour of
Ground Zero. He stated that said the foundation for a memorial - as well as transit
infrastructure and probably a parking garage for buses - will be placed within the
70-foot-deep ditch.
It is sad to note and acknowledge that the LMDC and PA failed to convey this
usage plan in its outreach to the public both in New York and New Jersey.

What happened to that solemn promise of We Will Never Forget, made in the
aftermath of 9.11.01? What of the remains yet unidentified, and the ashen remains
of those lost that were transported to a landfill, Fresh Kills, and left there, where
they lie absent from the debates that rage on, forgotten, remembered only by the
family members., who mourn them.

While the fires raged from 9.11.01 thru December, the remains of those lost were
cremated by the intense heat,
and became one with the debris of the fallen towers, so much that the ashen
remains cannot be separated.

Where is the honor and respect for these remains? How will history judge a
society that thought so little of those lost as to leave them in a "landfill".

While the issues of rebuilding the WTC site are debated at each level of
government,and the fiscal well being of the city takes precedence, where is the
moral obligation and priority to see that these ashen remains are respected and
given a proper burial.

Yes, the "Pit" may have to be filled, but perhaps it would be better suited to be the
final resting places of those lives lost, in sacrifice, and given the name "hero's". We
applaud these officials for the naming of a street, or a ferry, but what of those left
behind in the landfill? Who speaks for them? I hope that you will Mr. President.
 Families of those lost must schedule an appointment through the Sanitation
department to visit the landfill, to pay homage
to their loved ones, many may not survive their own lifetimes, waiting for this
landfill to be a public place they can visit. )
Added to the burden of their loss, is the horrific images that their loved one
remains are in a landfill. It has been more then 16 months, the families continue to
wait, in hope of something to be returned, a wait that may never be answered.
Family members are left to speak in terms of body parts found, and not found, and
what may never be found.

I am but a single father who continues to mourn the loss of his daughter, but I tell
you that in my heart, and mind it is wrong to leave them in the landfill, and not
return them to a place of respect and honor.. Yes fill the "Pit", if you must, but
allow it to be the final resting place for those lost on 9.11.01.

Only you, as our national leader, can effectively seek a change of where
the priorities are, and honor those lost in a manner befitting their sacrifice.
I ask that you intervene to see that this does not become a stain upon our
national honor, and that you honor these victims, just as you honor all of
the causilties of war, both past and present.

With A Sadden Heart & Tears,

www.familiesforproperDurial.com

9/11 Personal Privacy