Fighter pilot Heather Penney to speak at Washington Sept. 11 ceremony

A fighter pilot who flew on Sept. 11, 2001, will be the featured speaker at a Washington, Illinois ceremony marking the attacks. The remembrance, set for 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, will be held at the Veterans Memorial helicopter at Washington Park. Heather “Lucky” Penney, recognized for her service 25 years ago, was then a First Lieutenant serving as an F-16 pilot with the District of Columbia Air National Guard. As reports came in that United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked and headed toward Washington, D.C., Penney and Lt. Col. Marc Sasseville were ordered into the air. Without live missiles available, they would have had to use their aircraft to stop the jet. Penney later left fighter aviation as a single mother, then worked for Lockheed Martin and now serves as a Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute. The program also includes performances by The Gibson Girls and music by Bagpiper Scott Whitman, plus a parade of local honor groups and readings of names including those of NYPD officers.