Mark Bingham
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Mark Kendall Bingham (May 22, 1970 - September 11, 2001) was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. He was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
He died at age 31 in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on board United Airlines flight 93.
He is believed to have been among the passengers who stormed the cockpit to prevent the hijackers from using the plane to kill hundreds or thousands of additional victims. In a cell phone call to his mother, Alice Bingham, shortly before the plane went down, he told her, "some of us here are going to try to do something."
He was survived by his former companion of eight years, Paul Holm, who says this wasn't the first time Mark risked his life to protect the lives of others. In fact, he had twice successfully protected Paul from attempted muggings, one of which was at gunpoint. Paul describes him as a brave, competitive man, saying "He hated to lose -- at anything." He was even known to proudly display a scar he received after being gored at the running of the bulls in Pamplona.
He was a strapping athlete, at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg), and played on a gay rugby team. In college, he was a star on the Berkeley rugby team, leading them to a string of national championships. In his honor, the annual international rugby competition aimed predominantly for gay and bisexual men was named the Bingham Cup.
Bingham attended Los Gatos High School. He was also president of his fraternity, Chi Psi.
John McCain and Barbara Boxer honored him in a ceremony for San Francisco Bay Area victims on September 17, 2001, presenting a folded American flag to Paul Holm.
Singer Melissa Etheridge dedicated the song "Tuesday Morning" to his memory.
See September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/Casualties.
External links and references
- Mark Bingham: a Tribute to a Wonderful Man, a Great Friend, a Loving Brother, and an American Hero (http://www.markbingham.org/)
- Mark Bingham discussion forum (http://www.tenrec.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Mark+Bingham&number=1)
- Gallerry: Mark Bingham - Fallen Brother (http://www.grrr.com/cgi-bin/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Mark_Bingham_-_Fallen_Brother) photo gallery
- SFFOG.ORG (http://www.sffog.org/marktribute.html) Mark's rugby team, the S.F. Fog (Mark's Memorial page)
- Wohlmut.com: Mark Bingham (http://www.wohlmut.com/kevin/Ego/Friends/MarkBingham.htm) Personal memorial page from a friend
- UC grad, PR man used cell phone (http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/terrorism/story2.asp?story=091301-21)
- UNITED FLIGHT 93: On Doomed Flight, Passengers Vowed to Perish Fighting, New York Times, 9/13/2001 (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/national/13NEWA.html)
- List of California-connected victims aboard hijacked airliners, NBC4-TV, 9/13/2001 (http://www.msnbc.com/local/knbc/nbca4a75jrc.asp)
- msnbc.com story on what probably happened on the plane (http://www.msnbc.com/news/632626.asp?pne=msn)