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Tom Burnett was one of the victims on Flight 93.
- Three sites with full list of survivors, plus photos and stories -
[1] [2] [3] Template:Other people2
| Tom Burnett | |
|---|---|
| File:Burnetttom.jpg | |
| Born |
Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. May 29, 1963 Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Died |
September 11, 2001 (aged 38) Shanksville, Pennsylvania |
| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Citizenship | American |
| Employer | Thoratec Corporation (until 2001) |
| Spouse(s) | Deena Burnett (until 2001) |
| Children | Halley Elizabeth, Madison Margaret, Anna Clare |
Plaque beneath flag dedicated to Tom Burnett
Tom Burnett memorial flag in Bloomington, MN
Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was the vice president and COO of a Pleasanton, California, medical devices company, Thoratec Corporation. At the time of his death, Mr. Burnett resided in San Ramon, California.[1] He died at age 38 in the September 11, 2001 attacks on board United Airlines Flight 93.
Biography[]
Burnett graduated from Thomas Jefferson Senior High School in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1981 after leading the football team to the state semi-finals as their starting quarterback.[1] His football jersey, #10, is now retired at his former high school.
Burnett studied economics at Saint John's University in Minnesota. After two years, an injury shortened his football career and he transferred to the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.[1] He was named President of the Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity, then later graduated with a B.S. degree in Finance. He went on to earn a MBA at Pepperdine University.[1]
United Airlines Flight 93[]
On September 11, 2001, while on board Flight 93, he was able to call his wife four times on an airphone after the hijackers took control of the plane.
Burnett and other passengers had been in communication with people via airphones and learned that the World Trade Center had been hit using hijacked airplanes. Burnett was among the passengers who decided to fight the hijackers hand-to-hand.
Burnett called his wife, Deena, and reportedly told her, "We're all going to die, but three of us are going to do something." He is survived by his wife and three young daughters—Halley, Madison, and Anna Clare.
Deena Burnett co-authored a book entitled Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves. The book is published by Advantage Inspirational and was released in July 2006. Fighting Back recounts the difficulties in getting the FBI 
to release cockpit voice recorder tapes from United 93 to the public, and includes Deena Burnett's thoughts on the nature of heroism.
Burnett was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002. Also in that same year, a street in Pleasanton, California, where he worked for Thoratec Corporation, was renamed Tom Burnett Lane, commemorating his heroic efforts on Flight 93 that fateful day of September 11, along with his fellow passengers. There is also a memorial called Hero's Garden at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management in Tom's honor.
Recently, Deena has remarried to Rodney Bailey and he has a son named Tanner Bailey. They currently reside in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The California State Assembly renamed the Fostoria Way overcrossing over Interstate 680 in San Ramon the Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Memorial Bridge in his honor.[2]
References[]
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