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For a Kaysville family that lost a mother and a sister in the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden's death brings little comfort.
"It would be much better if the ideas would die instead of just the man," said Margaret Wahlstrom, daughter-in-law of Mary Alice Wahlstrom, a Kaysville woman who died along with her daughter, Carolyn Beug, aboard the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Margaret Wahlstrom said she and her husband, Norman, did not celebrate Sunday night's news.
"When [the attacks] first happened, a reporter asked if we wanted revenge. ... We never did feel that way," she said. "We felt our pain. Ultimately, we just have to try to make things better for our world and our sphere of influence. Maybe we could do enough good to counteract some of the bad."
Wahlstrom said her concern is with the practical realities of security.
"I used to think that maybe I would be relieved" at bin Laden's capture or death, she said. "But I just don't think that it's going to help. I don't think that it's going to have an impact on more suicide bombers or suicide attacks. There are other leaders that have taken up the battle cry. Hitler died and there's still organizations ... that try to follow the philosophies that the Third Reich had."
While the nation reflects on this long-awaited milestone in the fight against terrorism, Wahlstrom said she hopes it does not distract from a broader need to change hearts and minds.
"Even though I guess it's symbolically good to have some of these people removed from the equation, we wish we could destroy the hate and the feelings that cause people to want to act cruelly," she said. "Unless we face these situations and address them, we need to keep examining them and keep trying to figure out how we can conquer pure hate. That's the thing that frustrates me. We have to keep truly searching for the answers."
Carolyn Beug, 48, lived in Los Angeles and formerly worked in the music industry. She was survived by her husband, John Beug, and three children.
Another 9/11 victim with Utah ties, Brady Howell, 26, grew up in Idaho and graduated from Utah State University; his wife, Liz, was a Utah native, from Honeyville.
He was working at the Pentagon as a management intern for the U.S. Navy chief of intelligence when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing him and more than 185 others.
In December 2001, Liz Howell ran a leg of the 2002 Winter Games torch relay in her husband's memory, handing off the Olympic flame to President George W. Bush at the White House.
9/11 victims with Utah ties
Mary Alice Wahlstrom • 78, Kaysville, a retired loan officer, was a wife, mother and grandmother. On 9/11, she and her daughter, Carolyn Beug, were returning to Los Angeles after settling Carolyn's two daughters into the Rhode Island School of Design. She and Carolyn were aboard American Airlines Flight 11 the first flight to hit the World Trade Center when it crashed at 8:46 a.m.
Carolyn Beug • 48, Los Angeles, had worked in the music industry and was working on a children's book at the time of her death on American Airlines Flight 11. She was survived by her husband and three children.
Brady Howell • 26, grew up in Idaho and was a graduate of Utah State University. He was working as a management intern for the U.S. Navy chief of intelligence when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing him and nearly 200 others. He was survived by his wife, Liz, a native of Honeyville in Box Elder County.