Two hours later we were at the Memorial. It’s about 20 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the Somerset exit (#110). After turning into the memorial park you drive another three and half miles to the memorial site.
A memorial nook. |
Your visit to the memorial begins with a series of plaques
that tell you about the events on 911, focusing on where Flight 93 was
throughout that morning. You then walk
along a black slate wall that borders the crash site. Several nooks are cut into the wall where
people leave gifts/memorials/testaments to the 40 who died here. It’s virtually impossible to walk by these
nooks without tears in your eyes.
The columns along the flight path |
The end of the memorial consists of 40 columns of polished
white granite, each inscribed with the name of one of the 40. These columns are aligned along the final
flight path of Flight 93, where it flew upside down before crashing about 100
yards away. The actual crash site is
marked by a 17 ton stone which was adorned with flowers during our visit.
Detail of one of the columns |
The memorial is only partially finished, but even so the
visit here is very emotional. You can’t help
but admire the bravery of the crew and passengers as they voted to fight back
against the terrorists and you can’t help but to be thankful that the 40 kept
the terrorists from crashing Flight 93 into our nation’s capital. This memorial can’t begin to repay their sacrifice,
nor that of their families, but it is a great step forward in honoring them for
what they did for us.
Stone marking the crash site. |
That looks like a very moving place to visit. I got tears in my eyes just reading this and looking at the pictures
ReplyDeletewow you guys do the coolest things. I can remember watching the tv screen w both of you that awful morning. It is fitting that there should be memorials so we don't forget all the innocent people that lost their lives on that day!
ReplyDeleteThanks once again for sharing!