Nearly 10 years after 9/11, Donna Marsh O'Connor is still gripped by grief. Her daughter Vanessa Lang Langer, and unborn grandchild, were both victims of the terrorist attacks.
"There is a 9 year old child that is absent and there is a very very beautiful, very fierce, and very very powerful image of a daughter who is still in my life every day," said O'Connor. "That never goes away."
O'Connor watched as the story broke that the mastermind behind the devastating terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden, had been shot and killed by American forces. Listening to the television reports, she says she was almost numb to the news. "I can't explain it I almost had no reaction. I just felt this weight and the gravity of the moment. It was just incredibly sad." That overwhelming sense of sadness continued as she watched crowds celebrate in front of the White House and at the World Trade Center site. A troubling site for the mother who says this should be a time to reflect.
O'Connor says she is now fascinated with the details of how the most wanted terrorist was killed as Navy Seals ambushed his compound and took bin Laden's body into custody.
Now, just 24 hours later some people are already demanding a picture for proof. Officials say photographs have been sent to Washington confirming the body is bin Laden's, they have not yet been released to the media and it's still unclear if they will. "I would hope that whatever has to happen, happens sooner," said O'Connor. She also hopes the death can mark the end of what she calls the "terror years" and bring some peace to the world. But says she is concerned about future terror threats in the wake of bin Laden's death.
O'Connor, who has referred to bin Laden as the boogie man, says he needed to be held accountable for the thousands of lives he's taken. But his death has done little to kill the pain she copes with every day. "The most profound feeling last night was when I let myself process 'Osama bin Laden is dead,'" she said. "Killing a perpetrator never does bring back the victim."
To read Donna's letter to the Huffington Post about the news of bin Laden's death, click here.
