By Sean Carlson WDDE Delaware
Dover Air Force Base. Photo WDDE
Senior representatives from the airline industry and the USO thanked members of the Joint Personal Effects Depot (JPED) at the Dover Air Force base Monday for an event more than a decade in the making.
The ceremony acknowledged the return a pair of American Airlines flight attendant wings and an Association of Professional Flight Attendants pin to the airline at its headquarters in Texas.
Those items were on American Airlines flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Yesterday’s event praised the efforts of JPED to return the items.
Laura Glading, the president of Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said the effects plays an important symbolic role.
“Nothing better symbolizes the flight attendant profession than these items,” Glading said. “Having them recovered and returned to us serves as a reminder to us all that no matter what, our family endures.”
Nelson Delgado and Sgt. First Class Elmer Feliciano, two members of JPED who helped to return the items to American Airlines, were recognized by senior airline and Association of Professional Flight Attendants representatives.
Delgado says he was just doing his duty.
“We answered the call during 9/11, but the mission is not complete.” said Degado. “We will continue to do this mission with dignity, reverence and respect because its [sic] not about Sgt. Feliciano or myself, its about the families of our fallen.
JPED is responsible for cleaning, processing and documenting items from killed or wounded American soldiers before returning those items to families.
