We lost several Valley natives in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
For their surviving family members, the news that Osama bin Laden was dead stirred up a mixed bag of emotions.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Youngstown native and Youngstown State University graduate Terry Lynch was attending a meeting at the Pentagon when a plane struck the building. His wife Jackie said on that day Al Qaida and Osama bin Laden stole a lot from her, especially the opportunity to say goodbye.
"Still it's just very hard to move on without being able to say I love you or to hug the person," Lynch said from her home in Philadelphia.
But when she heard the news that U.S. forces killed the man behind the terrorist attacks, she finally felt relief after a decade of waiting.
"I'm just overwhelmed. This is really a lot of closure for my family," she said.
Sharon native Rebecca Koborie, 48, also lost her life in the attacks. She was working on the 97th floor of the North Tower when the planes struck the World Trade Center.
Koborie's memory is honored at Buhl Park in Sharon with a small garden planted on a hillside. Her father still lives in the area and he said that while he was glad to hear of bin Laden's capture, it still doesn't change anything: The crime was committed and his daughter is never coming back.
As surviving family members try to sort through their own personal emotions brought about by bin Laden's death, Jackie Lynch said this day definitely was a long time coming.
"Its now been 10 years, I'm living on my own, I have a grandson, and I can move on with my life," Lynch said.
Lynch has two grown daughters and is now a grandmother. She has kept in close contact with YSU and remained close with victims' families, even organizing get-togethers in Washington, D.C.
She said she is working with YSU on a fundraiser to raise money for a scholarship in Terry's name. A tentative date is set for Friday, Sept. 9.
