Remembering Mark Kendall Bingham

This is to remember Mark Bingham, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The 31-year-old was a late addition to the passenger list, as he was trying to return home to San Fransisco, California, to be a part of a wedding. Instead, the plane was hijacked to fly into the Capital Building in Washington, DC, and Mark and other passengers stormed the cockpit, and forced the plane to go down in the field, hurting no one but those on board. Mark, an openly gay man who played on the San Fransisco Fog Rugby team, was survived by his boyfriend of six years, Paul Holm.



After his death, the bi-annual tournament for gay rugby for teams form around the world was renamed in his honor, known as the Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament, or the Bingham Cup. Here is a clip featuring his team, the Fog.



To learn more about the tournament, click here. And for the official website of the San Fransisco Fog, click here.

9/11 Tribute - Mark Bingham

A passenger on Unite flight 93, Mark Bingham was one of the brave Americans who fought back against the hijackers, who planned to aim the plane for buildings in Washington, DC. There battle was dramatized in the film United 93, where Bingham was played by out actor Cheyenne Jackson.



Bingham himself was an out man, who played for the San Fransisco Fog in the Gay Rugby League. In honor of the man, the biannual Gay Rugby World Championship carries his name. Here is a trailer for the documentary made about Bingham.





Mark was very close to his mother, who has gone on to be a big supporter of civil rights for all. Since 2002, she attends and often speaks at the Bingham Cup, honoring her son.



For information on the Mark Bingham Foundation, check out their official website here. For more about the documentary, The Mark Bingham Story, check them out here.