U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds, who represents Florida’s 19th district, marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks by posting a series of tweets on September 11, 2025, commemorating individuals who responded during the tragedy.
In his first post at 17:55 UTC, Donalds wrote about American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ann Ong: “Pray for us.” Those were the final words of Betty Ann Ong, the longtime @AmericanAir flight attendant credited with being the first person to alert authorities to the deadly 9/11 hijackings. Betty bravely remained on the line with authorities for more than 20 minutes as her”.
At 18:18 UTC, Donalds turned his attention to Moira Smith, an officer with the New York Police Department: “Moira Smith was a longtime @NYPDnews officer, a wife, a mother, and among the first to respond to the September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center. Famously described as having “the face of an angel and the heart of a lion” she was awarded, the NYPD Distinguished Duty Medal,”.
Later that day at 18:59 UTC, Donalds highlighted Michael Boyle’s actions on September 11: “Michael Boyle was a champion marathon runner, an excellent softball player, and an @FDNY firefighter from Manhattan. He was off duty during the morning of September 11th, 2001, but stepped into action when the alarms sounded, and jumped onto a firetruck with his fellow”.
Byron Donalds has served in Congress since replacing Francis Rooney in 2021 and previously held office in Florida’s House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020. Born in Brooklyn in 1978 and currently residing in Naples, he holds degrees from both Florida A&M University and Florida State University.
