Remembering Richard Guadagno, Eureka man who died on Flight 93

LOLETA – The community still mourns a Eureka man who died on United Flight 93 sixteen years ago.
Richard Guadagno was 38 years old and returning from his grandmas birthday party when terrorists hijacked his plane that was headed for San Francisco.
It is believed that Guadagno was one of the passengers who fought back and kept the aircraft from targeting another city before it crashed in Pennsylvania.
Guadagno is still missed by those who worked alongside him.
Former colleagues called him Rich and described him as a renaissance man, an avid musician and hunter who made the world around him a better place.
His work lives on at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge where he served as manager. The Visitor Center and Headquarters bear his name as a reminder of what he stood for.
Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Manager Eric Nelson said, “He had a lot to do with this refuge in the short time that he was here and a lot of his ideas are still being carried out. So aside from his heroic acts on Flight 93, he left a legacy here on habitat restoration and work on the ground and with people.”
Guadagno’s family has been honoring his passion for nature with scholarships since his death and now offers an eight month internship through the refuge in Loleta.