Flight attendant turns 9/11 troop-flight journals into a digital archive

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, former World Airways flight attendant Paula Gibson is publishing handwritten journal entries from U.S. troops and others aboard post-9/11 charter flights. The living archive aims to preserve the words, reconnect writers with their pages and add new entries over time.

Why it matters: - The archive preserves firsthand accounts from troops, contractors and media personnel who flew to and from deployment after 9/11. - The project turns personal wartime journals into a public record that families, friends and the writers themselves can search and revisit. - The effort adds another way to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with lived experiences, not just remembrance.

What happened: - Paula Gibson, a former World Airways flight attendant, is expanding a digital archive called In Flight: Journal Entries from 9/11 Troop Movements. - The archive is live at inflightjournalentries.com. - Gibson kept handwritten journals from U.S. service members on actual charter flights for more than 20 years. - Gibson first offered her personal journal to a soldier on an early post-9/11 flight, then passed it hand to hand down the aisle as more soldiers wrote in it. - Gibson is publishing the entries in the soldiers' own handwriting, with transcriptions, in a growing online collection.

The details: - The project builds on Gibson’s previously published book, InFlight EnRoute & In Thought, Volume 1. - The digital archive will continue growing with new, previously unpublished entries. - An open call titled “Find Your Entry” is aimed at service members, as well as contractors and media who traveled with them. - The call also extends to families and friends who may recognize handwriting, initials or specific dedications. - Gibson said she wants the pages to be seen rather than left in storage, and she wants families and friends to have access to what was written on long flights overseas. - Weekly posts will continue on the site with entries, submitted stories and updates. - Posts will run daily for the week leading up to Sept. 11, 2026, as a tribute.

Between the lines: - The project reframes wartime memorabilia as a living archive instead of a static historical artifact. - The open call suggests Gibson is trying to reconnect scattered service members and surviving loved ones with physical records of deployment-era experiences. - The anniversary timing gives the archive a built-in moment of public attention and likely expands the chance of new identification matches.

What's next: - Gibson will keep adding new entries and stories to the archive. - Readers can search for handwriting or initials and contact the project if they recognize an entry. - The archive will publish daily in the week before Sept. 11, 2026, then return to a weekly cadence. - Media contact: Paula Gibson, stories@inflightjournalentries.com.