The three pilots didn’t realize July 2001 would be the last time they would talk to their friend, fellow pilot and Lower Makefield resident Victor Saracini, writes Patrick Berkery for The Keystone.

Peter Maniscalco, Sam Irvin, and Steven Verdi are forever bonded by their friendship with Saracini, who was killed when the plane he was piloting on Sept. 11, 2001 was hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists and flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.   

Saracini was one of 18 people from Bucks County who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The victims are honored at the Garden of Reflection 9/11 Memorial in Lower Makefield.

In September 2006, Maniscalco, Irvin, and Verdi collaborated to fly The Tribute Flag, an American Flag, over all three 9/11 crash sites–and the Garden of Reflection.

It is the only known American Flag to have made such a journey.

On the eve of the 20^th anniversary of 9/11 Friday, the three pilots were together again, attending a ceremony at the Garden of Reflection 9/11 Memorial.

“To be able to have these three pilots here, who were Victor’s friends, is wonderful,” said Victor Saracini’s widow, Ellen.

Read more about these three friends and how they were forever changed by 9/11 in The Keystone.