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Flight 93/Shanksville
*the following is a piece I wrote for the News-Dispatch in October 2005. It pretty much sums up this trip.
In the middle of the Laurel Highlands of the Appalachian
Mountains is a hilltop where a memorial of random items rest as a reminder of
one of the ugliest days in American history. On Sept. 11, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked. Two crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and another hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. When hijackers took over the fourth plane, United Flight 93, the crew and passengers decided to take it back. While it's unknown what the hijackers intended to hit had they succeeded, it is speculated the target was either the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Instead Flight 93 crashed into a reclaimed strip mine at the edge of a woods near Shanksville, Pa. Until Sept. 11, I had never heard of Shanksville --even though Išm a native Pennsylvanian. Somerset County, where Shanksville is located, was just another stop along the turnpike to get gasoline and hamburgers. On the way back to Indiana from a trip east, my husband and I decided to stop in Somerset --but not to refuel. Shanksville is similar to many of Pennsylvaniašs small boroughs. Founded in 1798, it's home to 245 people, a handful of businesses, three churches, a volunteer fire station and a school. Somerset County sits on a plateau tucked between the Allegheny Mountains to the east and the Laurel Mountains to the west. Flight 93 crashed in a field owned by coal companies. Though now in decline, mining became a trade in Somerset County after the Civil War. Interestingly enough, 11 months after Flight 93 crashed, another event that made national news unfolded 11 miles away in Quecreek. On July 28, 2002, nine miners emerged from a hole in the ground after being trapped there for three days. The site of the temporary memorial to Flight 93 is just as unassuming as Shanksville. After studying my 96-page Pennsylvania atlas, I discovered Shanksville wasn't on the map. The crash site is 15 minutes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but there are no signs announcing the memorial.
The actual crash site is about 500 yards south of the temporary memorial. Only family members of those killed on Flight 93 have access there. Visitors can see the spot, marked by a flag, from the temporary memorial. There are two rows of benches where visitors can see the crash site and reflect. Inscribed in each are two names of those killed on Flight 93. What I found striking was the array of items that have been left at the memorial by other visitors. There are small crosses, coins, pins, painted rocks, angels, Rosary beads, toys and trophies. A 40-foot-long fence at the site holds many of the tributes,
which include ball caps, T-shirts, flags, stickers, license plates, fire helmets
and wreaths. In the center of the fence is a board with rows of police, fire and
military patches tacked to it. The patches come from around the world. There is
a German Polizei patch next to a local patch. The tributes are cared for by the National Park Service, which is archiving them for future exhibition and study. A group local residents, known as ambassadors, answer questions from visitors. During our visit, one of the ambassadors told everyone about what had transpired on Sept. 11. When firefighters arrived on the scene that day, what they found was a hole in the ground. The rescue workers were trained to look for people --only there were no people. The largest piece of wreckage found at the site was the size of a truck bed. Everything else was picked up by hand and placed in buckets. The temporary memorial attracts more than 130,000 visitors annually. The ambassadors reported that in June the site saw 13,000 visitors from all 50 states and 19 countries. The temporary memorial, as its name says, won't be here forever. Plans are underway for a new national park to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger better picture!
Above are pictures of some of the various items left at the memorial
Directions:
COPYRIGHT Š 1999-2006 BY AMANDA HAVERSTICK. |
After winding around on several back roads passing farms and
homes of ardent Steeler fans, we came upon a road that lead up a hill. Just as
the hill was starting to feel like it would never end, we reached the top where
we could see the memorial --along with four school buses, a tour bus and a good
number of cars.
