STONYCREEK, Pa. — Vice President Mike Pence told the family and friends of the victims of United Flight 93 attending the 16th anniversary ceremony in Somerset County that the passengers might well have saved his life.
Monday’s somber service began at 9:45 a.m., the time that federal investigators determined passengers decided to revolt against their four al-Qaeda hijackers, who ended up crashing the plane in a field in Stonycreek, Pa., 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
The Republican said he was in Washington, as a member of Congress, on 9/11, and learned that the Capitol was a possible target of the hijacked plane, which was only 12 minutes away.
“It was the longest 12 minutes of my life,” he said, adding they soon learned the plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania.
A total of 33 passengers and seven crew members were killed.
“Without regard to personal safety, they rushed forward to save lives,” he said. “I will always believe that I and many others in our nation’s capital were able to go home that day and hug our families because of the courage and sacrifice of the heroes of Flight 93.”
The ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial began with the tolling of bells and a reading of the victims’ names, and remarks by Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the end of a $46 million effort to transform the rural Somerset County crash site into a national memorial park.
Ground was broken Sunday on the final element of the Flight 93 National Memorial — a 93-foot tall Tower of Voices. The tower, to be built near the park’s entrance, will feature 40 tubular metal wind chimes, one each for the victims.
Bill Adderly, the father of flight attendant CeeCee Ross Lyles, said the Tower of Voices is an apt ending to the memorial site.
“We were here two days after the crash, and never in our imagination did we believe it would be this beautiful,” said Adderly, of Fort Pierce, Florida. “The bells, the ringing, I could hear our daughter’s voice in it. She loved to sing. She loved to praise the Lord.”
Actual construction on the tower will begin later this month. It should be completed in time to dedicate the tower for the 17th anniversary ceremony next year.
In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed when four hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 crashed.
Earlier Monday morning, at least 1,000 family members, survivors, rescuers and officials were gathered as the ceremony at the World Trade Center began with a moment of silence and tolling bells. Then, relatives began reading out the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed when terrorist-piloted planes hit the trade center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, hurling America into a new consciousness of the threat of global terrorism.
Some said they couldn’t believe 16 years had passed since a tragedy that “still feels like yesterday,” as Corina La Touche put it as she honored her father, Jeffrey La Touche.
To others, it was an occasion to thank first responders and members of the military, to express concern for those affected by Hurricane Irma as it continued its destructive path as a tropical storm, or to plead for a return to the sense of unity they felt after the attacks.
“Our country came together that day. And it did not matter what color you were, or where you were from,” said a tearful Magaly Lemagne, who lost her brother, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Officer David Lemagne. She implored people to “stop for a moment and remember all the people who gave their lives that day.
“Maybe then we can put away our disagreements and become one country again.”
Added Michael Buhse, who lost his brother, Patrick: “We will never forget — and we will never forgive.”
Sixteen years later, the quiet rhythms of commemoration have become customs: a recitation of all the names of the dead, moments of silence and tolling bells, and two powerful light beams that shine through the night.
Yet each ceremony also takes on personal touches. Some name-readers added messages ranging from the universal to the personal — updates on family graduations and marriages, memories of personality traits and favorite foods.
Some have never even had a chance to meet the relatives they lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I wish more than anything that I could have met you,” Ruth Daly said, her voice breaking, after she read names in remembrance of her slain grandmother, Ruth Lapin. “I’m very proud to be your namesake. I hope you’re watching down on me from heaven.”
President Donald Trump said during a 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon earlier Monday morning that the nation grieves for the people “who were murdered by terrorists” 16 years ago.
The president and first lady Melania Trump joined with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, members of his Cabinet and military personnel at the Pentagon to observe the anniversary of the attacks on the nation’s defense headquarters.
The president issued a warning to extremists, saying “America cannot be intimidated” and those who try will join the list of enemies “who dared to test our mettle.” He says when America is united, “no force on earth can break us apart.”
First Published: September 11, 2017, 2:28 p.m.
Updated: September 11, 2017, 10:42 p.m.
