“Sept. 11” is as much a part of the American patriotic lexicon as “Remember the Alamo,” “Gettysburg” and “Pearl Harbor.” No explanation is needed. On Monday, the country for the 22nd time will mark the day that terrorists slammed hijacked jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In Somerset County, bells will toll as the names of the 40 passengers who died aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 are read at the national memorial honoring their efforts to keep the jet from crashing into the U.S. Capitol building.
The Tower of Voices, part of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, contains a plaque that says: “A monumental, 93-foot-high musical instrument … 40 chimes represents the voices of the 40 courageous passengers and crew members who took a vote to come together and fight terrorism on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The music of the chimes is a living tribute to these 40 men and women, many whose last messages to loved ones were through telephone calls and recorded voice messages.”
This strip of black granite on the floor of the visitors center depicts part of the path of destruction that occurred Sept. 11, 2001. At 9:37 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. The other acts of terror that day follow that path, which leads to the crash site of Flight 93.
Shawn and Marguerite Campbell, of Pipersville, Bucks County, walk past the memorial’s white marble Wall of Names. A wooden angel marks the panel of Todd Beamer, who helped to lead a passenger charge against the hijackers on Flight 93. He was overheard by a GTE Airfone operator telling other passengers, “Are you ready? OK, Let’s roll!” On that fateful day, Mr. Campbell was at work in North Bergen, N.J., and said he saw the dust cloud from the collapsing World Trade Center in New York City.
Architect Paul Murdoch described the wall as “Forty panels of 3-inch-thick polished white granite, 8-feet tall, each inscribed with a name of the 40 heroes.”
Alisha Keller, of Harrisburg, right, Pennsylvania Game Commission network and outreach manager, brought colleagues Kristi Reinaker, left, the commission’s social media manager, and Emily Kantner, center, commission communications manager, for their first visit to the memorial. They placed wreaths at a memorial at the entrance to nearby State Gamelands 93 in honor of Flight 93 passenger passenger Richard J. Guadagno, who was a manager at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California.
“A common field one day, a field of honor forever,” is etched in the glass at the Western Overlook at the memorial’s visitors center.
Visitors to the memorial walk a path through wildflowers to the overlook, which is positioned directly beneath the flight path of Flight 93.
Wearing matching “Never Forget” t-shirts, Marine Corps veteran John Stupski and his wife, Trisha, head toward the Wall of Names. The Stupskis, from Mount Vernon, Ohio, were making their first visit to the memorial.
Army veteran Bill Bookhamer, left, and Marine veteran Ed Kemper, both of Butler, study a display featuring photographs of the Flight 93 passengers and crew. Both men are members of the American Legion Riders, whose members help to raise money for a scholarship fund for children of U.S. military personnel killed since Sept. 11, 2001.
Personal trinkets and mementos are left daily at the memorial.
This gate, constructed of hemlock from trees beyond the crash site, leads to the crash site of Flight 93. The site is visible in the distance but is not open to the public.
Judy Pedrusic, 71, of Johnstown, has volunteered at memorial since 2018. “I was just drawn here,” she says, adding that her goal is “to educate the next generation. Most of them weren’t even alive when 9/11 happened. My parents had Pearl Harbor, this is ours.”
This strip of black granite marks the end of the destruction that occurred Sept. 11, 2001. “10:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93” is etched into the stone near the Wall of Names.
Marge and Kurt Grimm, of Pittstown, N.J., visited the memorial for the first time last week. Why did they come? “It’s our history,” she said. “We saw New York City, we wanted to come here, and next trip we will try to visit the Pentagon.”
First Published: September 10, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: September 11, 2023, 4:12 p.m.
