A 9/11 Memorial 10/22/21

At 9:57AM on September 11, 2001 over southwest Pennsylvania, passengers and crew on United Airlines Flight 93 struggled with hijackers who had taken control of the airliner about 30 minute earlier. The hijackers intended to crash the plane into the White House - the fourth such terrorist directed plane crash into a US landmark of the morning. Five minutes later, the plane crashed, but not into the White House or Washington, DC. It crashed into a former strip-mine in Stoysville, PA. All 40 passengers and crew, as well as the hijackers, perished.

On a Friday in mid-October, we visited the Flight 93 National Memorial that is on the crash site with friends.

The main part of the Memorial is in the shape of a horseshoe with the All'ee (walkway) looping between the two points. A Visitor Center and main parking lot is at the western point. Inside the center, Flight 93 is placed within the event of the day in NYC and Washington, DC, via artifacts and audio visuals, including cell phone recordings between passengers and their family members about their intent to rush the cockpit. There also is an observation deck from which visitors can oversee the entire Memorial.

The walk around the All'ee is a solemn trek, and will be more so in the future as the individual trees and groves of seedlings that line the way mature.

The Memorial, of course, has an educational function.

At the eastern point is the Wall of Names that lists the passengers and crew on marble slabs. The wall is positioned such that it traces the final path of Flight 93 to its impact point (beyond the wooden gate at the end of the wall).

The Flight 93 National Memorial is located about 20 miles west of Bedford, PA, on US 30. Near the entrance, just off US 30 on Approach Road, is the Tower of Voices. The ninety-three foot tall structure is a musical instrument holding forty wind chimes, one for each passenger and crew member. It is a visual and audible reminder of their heroism.