15. Flight 93 National Memorial, Pennsylvania

               Hello and welcome back to our blog on the National Park Service.  In this post, we will be visiting a memorial to a moment of heroism and tragedy, the Flight 93 National Memorial.

The visitor center entrance sign.

BACKGROUND:

               On September 11^th, 2001, a group of jihadists hijacked four commercial aircraft with the intent on using them in suicide attacks on the United States.  Two struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the third hitting the Defense Department Headquarters at the Pentagon outside Washington D.C., causing massive casualties.  Aboard the fourth aircraft, designated Flight 93, however, passengers were able to learn of the other attacks and attempted to take back the plane.  As the passengers stormed the cockpit, the jihadists dived the plane into the ground in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

The boulder marking the crash site of Flight 93.

THE MEMORIAL:

               Shortly after the attacks of September 11^th, 2001, representatives from the state of Pennsylvania pushed a bill through Congress establishing a National Memorial under the auspices of the National Park Service.  Over the course of the next decade, the land surrounding the crash site was acquired and a memorial complex were constructed.

The memorial plaza and crash site as seen from an overlook at the visitor center.

               The Flight 93 National Memorial as seen as of this writing is incomplete.  At present, the memorial consists of a visitor center complex atop a hill overlooking the crash site.  From the visitor center, a circular drive and a walkway which will be lined with groves of trees leads to the memorial plaza at the base of the hill near the crash site.  At the plaza, a marble Wall of Names records the passengers aboard the flight.  A boulder nearby marks the point of impact.  A large tract of land serves to provide a buffer for the memorial from land development, and a structure called the Tower of Voices holding forty wind chimes has yet to be constructed.

 

The memorial plaza.

TRAVEL TIPS:

               The Flight 93 National Memorial is located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes away from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the county seat of Somerset.  The memorial is open year-round with holiday exceptions from 9am to 5pm.  There is no entry fee and the visitor center and memorial plaza are both handicapped accessible.  The visitor center contains exhibits on the September 11^th attacks and artifacts.  Passport stamps are found at the front desk.  Memorial services are held annually on September 11^th.  Visitors are asked to remember to conduct themselves respectfully at the memorial.