Lisa Frost Memorial Draws Friends and Strangers on Special Day

Lynn Fink said she had seen the marker by the side of the lake in the past, but had never connected it to the terror attacks of Sept. 11.

But on Monday, the day after President Barack Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been killed by military forces, the flowers began to build on the Lisa Frost Memorial and it finally grabbed Fink and shook her to the core.

"My heart really goes out to the parents who lost their children," the Coto de Caza woman said, her voice breaking, her emotion cracking her public exterior.  "It's so meaningful and so very sad.

"I didn't relate it to 9/11, and it sounds awful, but now I'm torn by it. It was centralized in New York, but it affects people across America. Having a daughter (Lisa's) age now, it really hits home. I can't imagine what life would be like."

Life changed in communities across the county, in New York boroughs, in Pennsylvania outposts, in D.C. hotspots, and in Rancho Santa Margarita, where Frost grew up.

Flowers, cards, balloons and candles—not to mention American flags—adorned the marker memorializing Frost on Monday.

She was 22 when she was killed aboard the second jet that crashed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001

Although flowers periodically adorn the marker, there were more than usual on Monday. The death of bin Laden reminded people of the life of Frost, who had been valedictorian in hospitality administration at Boston University. She had been at BU for four years, but before that she attended local schools, including Trabuco Hills High in Mission Viejo where she was the school's salutatorian.

Pat Knight was at the memorial twice on Monday, morning and afternoon. Her granddaughter, Emma Bryant, had run a marathon with Lisa Frost's father, Tom Frost. The Temecula woman had asked Knight to deliver a card and a flag, which Knight  did, but her camera had no battery life available. Knight came back in the afternoon with camera at the ready.

"I usally take a picture and send it to (Bryant) on the fourth of July and on 9/11," said Knight, who has been to the memorial often. 'It's a tragic time for us, 9/11. I hope none of our kids forget this.

"I hope (bin Laden's death) will help Lisa's family, but it doesn't bring her back. ... This isn't going to end all the problems as much as I wish it would."

Another visitor to the site on Monday was Debbie Ray, who moved to Rancho Santa Margarita the week before the terror attacks. Her daughter Hillary had her first day of classes at Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate on Sept. 11, 2001.

Ray said she stops at the marker every day. She recalled the aftermath of the attacks and the large number of people who gathered at the lake to commisserate. 

"It was a bonding experience," she said. "I was sitting here thinking that (bin Laden's death) would be justice. It's horrible to think that. And that it would bring peace because it's been such a nightmare for these families and America."

The nightmare may not be over, but for once, people could stop at the Lisa Frost Memorial and smile at something other than her memory.