Editing LeRoy Homer Jr.

{{Short description|Pilot on United Airlines Flight 93 (1965–2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
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{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = LeRoy Homer Jr.
| image                     = Air Force cadet LeRoy Homer Jr.jpg
| caption                   = LeRoy Homer Jr. in 1984
| birth_name                = LeRoy Wilton Homer Jr.
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1965|8|27}}
| birth_place               = [[Plainview, New York]], U.S.
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|2001|9|11|1965|8|27}}
| death_place               = [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania]], U.S. aboard [[United Airlines Flight 93|Flight 93]]
| death_cause               = [[United Airlines Flight 93|Terrorist attack]] as part of [[September 11 attacks]]
| known_for                 = [[First officer (civil aviation)|First officer]] of [[United Airlines Flight 93]]
| height                    =
| title                     =
| children                  = Laurel Homer
| parents                   =
| callsign                  =
| website                   =
| signature                 =
| footnotes                 =
| spouse                    = {{marriage|Melodie Homer|1998}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blanchfield |first1=Mike |title='I'm thinking about it all the time,' says Canadian wife of Flight 93 pilot |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2011/08/29/im_thinking_about_it_all_the_time_says_canadian_wife_of_flight_93_pilot.html |access-date=October 30, 2020 |work=[[Toronto Star]] |date=August 29, 2011 |quote=They were married in 1998 at the Hamilton Mountain Seventh-day Adventist Church and settled in Marlton, N.J.}}</ref>
| partner                   =
| relations                 =
| module                    = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Mayday1.ogg|title=LeRoy's voice|type=speech|description=Mayday call at 09:28:17<br />Recorded September 2001}}
}}

'''LeRoy Wilton Homer Jr.''' (August 27, 1965 – September 11, 2001) was the [[First Officer (civil aviation)|First Officer]] of [[United Airlines Flight 93]], which was [[aircraft hijacking|hijacked]] as part of the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, and crashed into a field near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]], killing all 37 passengers and seven crewmembers, including LeRoy.

==Early life==
[[File:4.28.12LeRoyWHomerPanelS-67ByLuigiNovi1.jpg|thumb|Homer's name is located on Panel S-67 of the [[National September 11 Memorial]]'s South Pool, along with those of other passengers and crew of [[Flight 93]].]]
Homer, son of a West German woman and an American soldier who was stationed in West Germany, grew up on [[Long Island]] in [[New York (state)|New York]]. He was one of nine children, and seven of his siblings were girls. As a child, he assembled model airplanes, collected aviation memorabilia and read books on aviation. Whenever the family held events where men weren't invited, his father would take him to McArthur Airport where they would watch the planes takeoff and land.<ref name="i506">{{cite web | title=[ LeROY HOMER JR.... ]: [REGION Edition] | website=ProQuest | date=28 October 2001 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/391214063 | access-date=11 February 2025}}</ref> He was 15 years old when he started flight instruction in a [[Cessna 152]]. Working part-time jobs after school to pay for flying lessons, he completed his first solo trip at the age of 16 and obtained his private pilot's certificate in 1983. Homer graduated from [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius School]] in 1979 and [[St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School]] in 1983.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

==Career and personal life==
He entered the [[United States Air Force Academy]] as a member of the class of 1987. As an upperclassman, he was a member of Cadet Squadron 31. He graduated on May 27, 1987,<ref>{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=David |title=ALO Shares Memory of United 93 Co-Pilot |work=[[U.S. Air Force Academy]] |date=September 15, 2010 |access-date=March 4, 2015 |url=https://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story?id=123222081 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103051/http://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123222081 |archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.<ref name="homer">{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93homerbiop8.asp |title=Pilot: LeRoy Homer Jr. |date=October 28, 2001 |newspaper=[[Post-Gazette]] |access-date=March 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918071642/http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93homerbiop8.asp |archive-date=September 18, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

After completing his USAF pilot training in 1988, he was assigned to [[Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst|McGuire Air Force Base]] in [[New Jersey]], flying a [[Lockheed C-141 Starlifter]]. While on active duty, he served in the [[Gulf War]] and later supported operations in [[Somalia]]. He received many commendations, awards and medals during his military career. In 1993, he was named the [[21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force|Twenty-First Air Force]] "Aircrew Instructor of the Year". Homer achieved the rank of [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]] before his honorable discharge from active duty in 1995 and his acceptance of a reserve commission in order to continue his career as an Air Force officer.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Homer continued his military career as a member of the [[U.S. Air Force Reserve]], initially as a C-141 instructor pilot with the [[356th Airlift Squadron]] at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] in Ohio, then subsequently as an Academy Liaison Officer, recruiting potential candidates for both the Air Force Academy and the [[Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps]]. During his time in the Air Force Reserve, he achieved the rank of [[Major (United States)|major]].{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Homer continued his flying career by joining [[United Airlines]] in May 1995. He briefly worked as a flight engineer, before becoming a [[First Officer (civil aviation)|First Officer]] on the [[Boeing 757]]/[[Boeing 767]]<ref name="i506"/> in 1996, where he remained until his death.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Homer married his wife, Melodie, on May 24, 1998, and his daughter, Laurel, was born in late November 2000. They resided together in [[Marlton, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EEA41E7E19BE3A8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Leroy Homer AF Academy graduate called eternal optimist |newspaper=[[Denver Post]] |date=September 16, 2001 |access-date=November 19, 2008 |page=6}}</ref>

==September 11 attacks==
On September 11, 2001, Homer was flying with Captain Jason M. Dahl on [[United Airlines Flight 93]] from [[Newark, New Jersey]], to San Francisco. The plane was [[aircraft hijacking|hijacked]] by four al-Qaeda terrorists, as they carried out the [[September 11 attacks]]. Homer and Dahl struggled with the hijackers, which was transmitted to Air Traffic Control.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

After learning of the earlier crashes at the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]], the crew and passengers attempted to foil the hijacking and reclaim the aircraft. Given the uprising of crew and passengers, and knowing they would not make it to their intended target, which was the US Capitol, the hijackers instead chose to crash the plane into a field near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]].{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Homer received many awards and citations posthumously, including honorary membership in the historic [[Tuskegee Airmen]];<ref>{{cite journal |editor-last=Teel |editor-first=Oscar D. |title=What Were You Doing September 11th, 2001. |journal=Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. |date=September 2011 |url=http://tuskegeeaisd.org/newsletters/byREqsep11.pdf |access-date=March 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512071244/http://tuskegeeaisd.org/newsletters/byREqsep11.pdf |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |first=George E. |last=Watson }}</ref> the Congress of Racial Equality's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Drum Major for Justice Award; and the Westchester County Trailblazer Award.<ref>
{{cite web| work = United States. Cong. House. The General Assembly of Pennsylvania. LegiScan. Comp.
|author = KIRKLAND, HENNESSEY, LONGIETTI, GEORGE SONNEY, THOMAS V. BROWN, KORTZ, DiGIROLAMO, CALTAGIRONE, BROOKS, VEREB, MILLARD, O'NEILL, NEILSON, BRIGGS, TOEPEL, HESS, GOODMAN, FABRIZIO, HAHN, COX, FLECK, and BRADFORD| publisher = 196th Cong., 2012 sess. HR 833. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania| title = Bill Text: PA HR833: 2011-2012: Regular Session: Introduced|date = October 17, 2012| access-date = March 9, 2015| url = https://legiscan.com/PA/text/HR833/id/663804}}</ref>

He was survived by his wife, Melodie, and his only child, daughter Laurel. Other family members include his mother, seven sisters, and his brother. His widow Melodie Homer established the [[LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation]], which awards scholarships related to aviation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leroywhomerjr.org |access-date=December 7, 2018 |title=The LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation}}</ref>

At the [[National 9/11 Memorial]], Homer Jr. is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-67, along with other crew and passengers on Flight 93.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=98 |title=South Pool: Panel S-67: LeRoy W. Homer Jr. |work=Memorial Guide: [[National 9/11 Memorial]] |access-date=October 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727095710/http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=98 |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On May 7, 2021, [[United States Air Force Academy]]'s graduating class of 2024 named Homer Jr as the class Exemplar, an honor that academy's graduating class has bestowed every year since 2000 upon the individual who "exemplifies" the type of person the cadets wish to emulate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://usafawebguy.com/Blog/Entry/3178|title=2024 Exemplar Dinner|publisher=[[USAFA Webguy]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=October 1, 2021|access-date=February 6, 2023|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020184428/https://usafawebguy.com/Blog/Entry/3178}}</ref>

==See Also==
*[[John Ogonowski]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Melodie Homer, ''From Where I Stand: Flight #93 Pilot's Widow Sets the Record Straight'' ({{ISBN|978-1936782741}}) {{in lang|en}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-iehome13.story "United Pilot Was a Proud Papa, Helped Others"], Newsday.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20011108072526/http://www.phillyburbs.com/burlingtoncountytimes/terrorists/41181540.htm "Huge crowd remembers LeRoy Homer Jr."], phillyBurbs.com. <!-- link expired? -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060601224538/http://www.leroywhomerjr.org/index2.html LeRoy Homer Foundation]

{{United Airlines Flight 93|state=collapsed}}
{{Casualties of the September 11 attacks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homer, Leroy Jr.}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:21st-century American people]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:American commercial aviators]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Burlington County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Murdered African-American people]]
[[Category:People from Evesham Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Long Island]]
[[Category:St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School alumni]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Airmen]]
[[Category:United Airlines Flight 93 victims]]
[[Category:United States Air Force Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War]]