John Talignani of Flight 93 ~ Project 2996

John Talignani

Today Woodsterman is Non-political and gives tribute to an 

American Hero, John Talignani. He along with the other 

passengers of Flight 93 gave his life for his country, for no 

other reason than it was the right thing to do.

Since retiring in the mid-1990s, John Talignani had ordered 

anything and everything from television, cluttering his cramped 

apartment in Staten Island, N.Y., with an endless variety of 

appliances and memorabilia.

A retired bartender who schmoozed with the likes of 

Donald Trump and Dick Clark during his 20 years at 

a tony Manhattan steakhouse, Talignani just couldn't 

resist the pitches on QVC.

His home was filled with juicers, toasters, carpet shampoo, 

pasta makers, model cars, baseball memorabilia, a cavalry 

sword, chainsaws, and a pair of Woodstock tickets.

"The worst thing is, I don't know what to do with it," 

Talignani's stepson, Mitchell Zykofsky, said.
Like many bartenders, Talignani excelled at listening, 

to customers and to his family, which included three 

stepsons from his third and final marriage.

With his even temper, he took to his late wife Selma's 

children as if they were his own, practically raising 

them during the 20 years the couple was married.

Talignani hustled the youngest to tryouts with professional 

baseball teams, took pains to act as a sounding board for 

Mitchell, the oldest, when he wrestled with career decisions, 

and had boarded Flight 93 to head for California, where a 

car crash had just claimed the middle child.

"I credit most of whatever I've done to this day to his help," 

said Zykofsky, a New York City police sergeant.

The burly Talignani grew up playing stickball on the streets.

He entered Japan after World War II with the Army, and

never went to college. He was crazy about the New York 

Mets and had a soft spot for women.

"Sometimes you go out on a date with a girl and say goodbye 

at the end of the date," his brother Armand recalled. "He used 

to say, 'Let's get married.' " But he was no wine-and-dine 

Casanova, his stepson said, noting the longevity of his final 

marriage.

Once, Zykofsky recalled, he visited the Palm Too restaurant, 

where his stepfather worked, to find Talignani talking to actor 

George C. Scott. When Talignani came home, though, he never 

crowed about the big shots he met. His stories instead were 

always about the workaday regulars, 

whom he found more interesting.

Hat/Tip to Post-Gazette.com