She was 8 years old. Her name was Zoe Falkenberg, and on the morning of September 11, 2001, she climbed aboard American Airlines Flight 77 with her mom, dad, and 3-year-old little sister, Dana. To Zoe, this wasn’t a flight that would become part of American history. It was the beginning of an adventure. Her family was going to Australia for two months while her mother, Leslie Whittington, completed a fellowship at Australian National University. Her father, Charles Falkenberg, had taken leave from work so all four of them could experience it together. They had talked about seeing kangaroos and koalas and exploring a place on the other side of the world. (ABC News) Zoe sat between her dad and her little sister. Her mom was across the aisle. She was tiny for her age, but one of the brightest kids in her class. She loved Girl Scouts, ballet, swimming, and performing. More than anything, she loved books. Harry Potter was a favorite. At home, reading was a family ritual. Her parents would curl up on the couch with Zoe and Dana every night, then after Dana went to bed, Zoe got to stay up for the longer stories. Sometimes Harry Potter. Sometimes Tolkien. (Naval History and Heritage Command) And Zoe already had plans for when she came home. She and her best friend Katie were going to have a Beanie Babies birthday party together. That detail gets me. Because children don’t think about whether they’ll make it home from a family vacation. They think about stuffed animals and birthday parties and books they haven’t finished yet. Just before the family boarded their flight, they mailed postcards to relatives from Dulles Airport. Those postcards began arriving after September 11. Little messages from a family excited about the adventure ahead of them. Messages that essentially said, “We love you.” Zoe never got Australia. She never got her Beanie Babies party. Dana never got to grow up beside her big sister. Their parents never got to watch either of their daughters become women. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. Zoe, Dana, Leslie, and Charles died together. Dana, only 3, was the youngest person aboard the plane. Twenty-five years later, I don’t want Zoe remembered simply as one of the passengers on Flight 77. Her name was Zoe Falkenberg. She was 8. She loved Harry Potter. She had a birthday party waiting for her when she got home. And she should have had an entire lifetime after it.