Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Flight 93 National Memorial

Last month, my family and I visited the Flight 93 National Memorial located at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in an open field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
 
The Memorial sits about 3 1/2 miles off the main road. Near the parking lot is a small plaza with some information about 9/11, the plane, the flight, the area you are standing in and the people on board the aircraft. You can scan the signs with your smart phone to access narration and additional information. The plaza also features a Visitors Shed.
 


 The white marble wall is laid out in the flight path of Flight 93 moments before it crashed.
 
 The crash left a crater in the Earth which was filled in after investigation. The boulder was placed in the approximate spot where the plane impacted.
 
At one vantage point behind the white wall there is a better view of the impact site, with the grass cut leading to the spot. At this point, you are standing in the exact spot where the plane was a second before it crashed.
The white marble wall is made up of 40 individual slabs, each made out of a different type of marble. Each wall segment displays the name of a passenger or crew member.

The wall along the walkway leading to the main part of the memorial is lined with areas where people can leave memorials. Everything left is collected and archived.
 

This photo is from the Visitors Shed where you can leave a message.
 
Overall, a very chilling and somber experience.

 

3 comments:

Laura said...

Thanks for sharing these personal photos of the PA crash site.

Best wishes,
Laura

Tom said...

How moving. Thanks for sharing these photos. The story of what the passengers of Flight 93 did is so inspiring. Would like to visit this site one day.

Anonymous said...

Every year I participate in a memorial motorcycle run to honor the Hero’s of United Flight 93. I along with two other riders and their families start out here in central NJ and ride to Philadelphia PA where we meet up with other motorcyclists.

A small ceremony is held, then we make the approximately 250 mile group ride to Shanksville PA.

The reason I am writing to you is because this year the man who organizes this memorial motorcycle run Mr. John Hamilton has made a plea for help on youtube. I thought our story might interest you. If you could Please help get our story told that would be great. Below is all of the information.

Mr. John Hamilton’s plea for help video is located at:
http://youtu.be/dKvxrMUcM5U

The website Mr. Hamilton is referring to is:
http://www.brothersforflight93.com/

Mobile Version Now Available!.

Follow @edsouth on Twitter!

People Who Have Wasted Their Time Here: