The tragedy of Pan Am Flight 103 is more than a story of devastation. It’s a story of friendship and kindness. Of selflessness and memories. It’s a love story.

On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 went down over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The terrorist attack killed 270 people — 35 of them Syracuse University students. The 189 Americans killed made it the deadliest attack on U.S. civilians until Sept. 11, 2001.

In the 25 years following the tragedy, a slew of events changed lives all over the world. Family members lobbied for answers, suspects were tried and programs were created to honor those who died. 

And while most of those events have come and gone, one outcome of the attack remains a powerful force to this day: lasting relationships.

***

Anna Marie Miazga sat outside of a post office on her first trip to Lockerbie, Scotland.

It was 1990, more than a year after she learned that her daughter Suzanne had perished in the Pan Am 103 attack. That day, Miazga was meeting the man who had found her daughter’s body.

George White was working as a paramedic in Lockerbie the day of the attack. Suzanne’s body was found just outside the building that housed the ambulances.

“George still has nightmares about the disaster,” Miazga said.

Time passed before White decided to honor Suzanne’s memory by planting a pink rose tree where he had found her body. He sent Anna Marie a letter and photo of the memorial — proof that her daughter would never be forgotten.

The two eventually cultivated a long-distance friendship through letters and emails. But one day, the letters stopped, and Miazga learned that White’s wife had died of pancreatic cancer.

Bonded by lost loved ones, Miazga and White’s relationship continued to grow. They talked on the phone, they got to know each other’s families and he wrote her love letters.

“We just healed together,” said Miazga. “He loved Suzanne like she was his daughter. He carries her picture in his wallet all the time.”

Twenty-five years later and their relationship has only grown stronger. White now lives with Miazga near Utica, N.Y.

“I couldn’t do without him now,” Miazga said. They spend every day together. He opens the door for her. He feeds the dog. He makes her coffee every morning. Her daughters and friends love him.

“She’s the most beautiful, generous women I’ve ever met,” White said. “I love her very much.”

Miazga said she believes her daughter somehow brought White into her life.

“When she died, her body fell right next to his building,” she said. “No other body fell anywhere near there.”

***

Molly Linhorst knocked on the door of a bedroom inside Brewster Hall.

It was 2010 — Linhorst’s freshman year. She was shy, but eager to meet people on her floor. Next door was Allison Donaldson, a Lockerbie Scholar — one of the two students awarded a scholarship to attend SU for a year.

“From the very beginning, she struck me as a bundle of fun and sass,” said Linhorst. “She’s just such a sassy little Scot.”

And what an eventful year it was.

After dinner in Brockway Dining Center one evening, Donaldson roped Linhorst into pulling a practical joke.

With some leftover shrimp, the two friends ventured into the girl’s bathroom. Through muffled giggles, they placed a few shrimp on top of a toilet seat and ran out. Then, they waited.

“When we sat outside the toilet, someone would walk past us and go into the bathroom and then you’d hear a really big scream,” Donaldson said, “and then they’d come running out and they’d see us two giggling there.”

They also told each other secrets, took care of each other and were brutally honest when necessary.

“She’s the type of friend that anyone would really want,” Donaldson said of Linhorst. “She’s somebody that’s going to call you out when you’re being stupid and somebody who will have a lot of fun with you when you’re not.”

Three years later, Donaldson is back in Scotland and Linhorst is preparing for her duties as a 2013 Remembrance Scholar.

“I really wanted to do this because of my friendship with Alli,” she said, “because she has been so important to me and she’s one of my best friends.”

Donaldson won’t be able to attend this year’s Remembrance Week, but both girls know and appreciate their relationship and its importance 25 years after the attack.

“By having this scholarship,” added Donaldson, “it allows crossover between two towns that weren’t previously connected and now are very much connected and will always be connected.”

***

Fergus Barrie started the engine of a rundown blue car on the outskirts of Lockerbie, Scotland.

It was the summer of 2011. In the back seat was Lawrence Mason, a SU photography professor and a colleague. Mason had brought his photography class to Scotland and was in need of a shooting location. Barrie, who had just been selected as a Lockerbie Scholar, was his guide.

For one week, Barrie assisted the photography group as they traveled around the area. He’d pick up lunch and carry equipment. He knew who to talk to and where to go — and never asked for any compensation.

During the trip, the three men stopped by Barrie’s old primary school, where an impromptu assembly was hosted to introduce the American professors and field questions about their experiences. Instead, everyone wanted to know about Barrie.

“They wanted to hear about Fergus,” Mason said, laughing. “I guess that’s just evidence of the affection that the community has for him.

That was before Barrie even stepped foot on SU’s campus. In the last three years, he’s taken one of Mason’s classes, become a resident adviser and now manages the men’s soccer team.

“We’re just buddies,” said Mason. “He’s like a family member to me.”

Barrie described Mason as a “life mentor.” He said he could go to Mason with any sort of problem and “nine out of 10 times, he’s got an answer for it.”

Mason said he hopes other people have found a similar friendship following such a tragedy. If people really want to honor those who perished, he said, they should go to Lockerbie and make a friend — just as he did.

Said Mason: “We are stronger by the relationships we form together than we are apart.”

Published on October 7, 2013 at 12:15 am

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu