Copilot of 9/11 jet is honored with a statue in West Chester

Mike Horrocks was described as an inspiration, a hero, and a legend Saturday at a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a statue in his memory in West Chester.

The West Chester University football star (Class of 1985) was the copilot on United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane that was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The ramifications of that day, still felt around the world, were acknowledged at thousands of commemorative events throughout the country Saturday.

But it is hard to imagine that any were more personal than the one that attracted about 500 relatives and friends of Horrocks to the north end of Farrell Stadium at West Chester University.

Horrocks' 18-year-old daughter, Christa, a college freshman in South Carolina, set the tone.

"He was a hero not because of the way he died, but because of the way he lived," she said. "He laughed often, and he loved deeply."

As she spoke on a podium next to the statue, her brother, Mick, 15, stood behind her, a hand resting on her shoulder.

Both wore purple West Chester University football jerseys with their father's No. 14. The life-size statue shows Horrocks, a starting quarterback for two years, throwing a pass.

Mounted on a marble pedestal in a corner just beyond the northern end zone, the statue and a scholarship endowment in Horrocks' name are the work of friends and teammates who decided to honor his memory.

(They have raised about $150,000 for the endowment. The goal is $500,000. Donations can be made through the West Chester University athletic department.)

Dozens of Horrocks' teammates were in the crowd Saturday. Most wore commemorative yellow T-shirts with NEVER and FORGET bracketing the number 14.

Christa Horrocks, whose remarks drew tears and led to a standing ovation, talked about how her father often had quoted a line from the 1993 movie The Sandlot to her and her brother.

The movie, about young boys playing baseball, underscored all that was good about sports, competition, and teamwork, things that she said her father had espoused.

"Remember, kid, there's heroes and there's legends," she said, repeating the line from the movie. "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong."

Christa Horrocks spoke about how her sometimes clouded memory of her father is brought back sharply into focus when his friends and teammates tell stories about "his leadership, integrity . . . his character, modesty, and sense of humor."

Mike Horrocks, according to many who knew him and who turned out for Saturday's ceremony, followed his heart in all he did: playing the game he loved at West Chester; serving after college in the Marine Corps, where he became a pilot; and then taking to the air with United Airlines while raising a family with his wife, Miriam.

His parents, two brothers, and a sister were on hand with his widow and children for the unveiling and ceremonies just before the West Chester-Edinboro game.

A bronze plaque on the pedestal beneath the statue reads in part: "It is the hope . . . that Mike's enduring legacy of honor, vigilance, duty and character will inspire generations of West Chester athletes."

It also includes in bold, capital letters: WE SHALL NEVER FORGET.

Players jogged single-file past the statue before the game, each pausing to touch it.

The university marching band played a tribute to its former star quarterback, and the university presented his widow with a replica of the statue. Moments before kickoff, three Marine C-130 Hercules cargo planes flew overhead. The planes were from Horrocks' Marine squadron.

John Mininno, Tom Schafer, and Joe Walsh, three former teammates and part of the group that led the drive to establish the statue and endowment, were among the coordinators of Saturday's event.

Mininno, the master of ceremonies, concluded by borrowing from another sports movie, Field of Dreams.

As he looked toward the football field, he said: "This place will always be a little bit of heaven. And I like to think that now that Mike has come home to it, it's just a little bit better."