228: September 11 hero Betty Ong

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media

True Crime, Documentary, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 September 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you know, with certainty, how you would react in a time of extreme stress or crisis? As a 22 year old woman in San Francisco, Betty had not yet decided on a career path. So, while she was figuring out what she wanted to do, she worked at the factory owned by her parents. The factory produced beef jerky. It wasn’t really her dream job, but it kept her busy at the time, and she also felt good about helping her parents in their business. One day, Betty’s workplace suddenly became very dangerous. Some people came in to rob the family business – and they were waving guns around. Betty was out front, and one of the first employees to come in contact with the robbers. She never panicked, even as one of the men held a gun to her head. Instead, she calmly called her dad, who was in the back, and said, “Dad, we’re being robbed”. The robbers got some money and left, and no one was physically injured. Betty’s nerves of steel would come into play again years later. She was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines flight 11, on September 11, 2001. Today you’ll hear her voice, and you’ll learn why the 9/11 Commission declared Betty a hero. Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/228 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up. Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you know, with certainty, how you would react in a time of extreme stress or crisis?
0:11.9	As a 22-year-old woman in San Francisco, Betty had not yet decided on a career path, so while she was figuring out what she wanted to do,
0:23.1	she worked at the factory owned by her parents. The factory produced beef jerky. It wasn't
0:30.4	really her dream job, but it kept her busy at the time, and she also felt good about helping
0:36.7	her parents in their business.
0:39.9	One day, Betty's workplace suddenly became very dangerous.
0:46.0	Some people came in to rob the family business, and they were waving guns around.
0:52.9	Betty was out front, and she was one of the first employees to come in contact with the robbers.
1:01.0	She never panicked, even as one of the men held a gun to her head.
1:07.4	Instead, she calmly called her dad, who was in the back and said,
1:12.4	Dad, we're being robbed.
1:15.2	The robbers got some money and left, and no one was physically injured.
1:22.7	Betty's nerves of steel would come into play again years later.
1:28.4	She was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001.
1:37.9	Today you'll hear her voice and you'll learn why the 9-11 commission declared Betty a hero.
1:51.7	Real people in unreal situations.
1:56.6	The eerie silence when I walked in and he's just staring at me.
2:01.6	I was like, hello, like, are you okay?
2:04.6	And then I had to tell him it was me.
2:07.6	There was just blood everywhere.
2:10.6	They're shouting, they're screaming, they're being hit by bullets, they're hitting the ground.
2:14.6	And in that moment, I literally thought, this is how I die.
	...

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