Jack Grandcolas, Husband of Flight 93 Passenger, Says Bin Laden's Death Is "As Raw as It Gets"

Lauren Grandcolas

​It's been nearly a decade since the harrowing September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks masterminded by Osama bin Laden. The memory of that day became fresh again after President Barack Obama delivered the news of bin Laden's death Sunday night. A mix of shock and joy spread across the nation, but for those who lost loved ones in the attacks, the news was more emotional.

Jack Grandcolas sat stunned inside his home in San Rafael as he watched President Obama deliver the news. Grandcolas' wife, Lauren, was one of 44 passengers and crew members who had attempted to overtake the hijackers on Flight 93, which later crashed into a rural Pennsylvania field.

"It's a big relief," Grandcolas told reporters. "This is as raw as it gets."
KTVU reports that Grandcolas had not had time to reconnect with other families of the Flight 93 victims. The plane was the fourth hijacked on  September 11; passengers rushed the cockpit, attempting to thwart the hijackers from reaching their intended target, believed to be the White House. 

Lauren Grandcolas reportedly called her husband from the plane but he was asleep. She left a message, telling him something was wrong with the plane, but that she was okay, and she loved him.

She was three months pregnant with their first child.

"It's a big relief," Jack Grandcolas told KTVU. "I think justice is served one way or another in this life. Thinking about all the people who were affected by this man -- affected by the loss -- and all the people globally who continue to be affected by terrorism, it's a beautiful day."

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