Glynco, GA – Earlier this summer, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) received a donation of a stuffed pink rabbit from the grandparents of 9/11’s youngest victim, Christine Lee Hanson. The rabbit is now on display in the FLETC Intermodal facility, which was dedicated in part to Christine Hanson and all the victims of 9/11.
“The students and staff of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers are humbled by this thoughtful donation,” said FLETC Director Connie Patrick. “We will keep Christine’s memory, and her favorite rabbit, as a reminder of why we are here each and everyday.”
The family of Christine Hanson wanted this special memento to be shared where it could be seen by those that come into the facility for training. Lee Hanson, Christine’s grandfather who was on hand for the facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2011, said Christine’s portrait is a reminder of the innocent lives lost that day.
Christine Lee Hanson, just two years old when American Airlines flight 175 was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was the youngest victim of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. She was on with her parents on their way to visit Disneyland in California.
“Christine Lee was love personified,” wrote her grandfather, Lee Hanson, “ It is hard to explain Christine’s love for her family and friends. It was deep and personal. She was like an angel, mischievous sometimes, but mostly gentle and loving. She helped her mom and dad plant flowers, trees and bushes, and would tell them not to worry, her dad would give them food and water and they would grow up to be strong.”
The Hanson family donated the stuffed bunny that Christine had since she was a baby. In fact, they noted that when they went to the home shortly after 9/11, the bunny was tucked into Christine’s bed.
The FLETC trains the majority of federal officers and agents in the United States. In addition to providing training for over 90 federal partner organizations, FLETC also provides training to state, local, tribal and international police in selected advanced programs; graduates approximately 70,000 students annually and is the largest law enforcement training organization in the country.
Headquartered on a 1600-acre campus at Glynco, near Brunswick, Georgia, the FLETC operates facilities in Artesia, New Mexico; Charleston, South Carolina; and Cheltenham, Maryland. The FLETC also has oversight responsibility on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security for the International Law Enforcement Academies at Gaborone, Botswana; and Bangkok, Thailand.