Remember 9/11
During the Great Burgh Staycation, one of our goals was to travel two hours East of Pittsburgh and visit the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County. I personally had already been to the World Trade Center and Pentagon sites. They are not at all like the Flight 93 site.
The contrast between the bustling progress filled with constant subtle reminders of what happened at the World Trade Center and the stark lack of bustling progress at the Flight 93 site was disconcerting. While the World Trade Center site is bathed in political turmoil, the fact of the matter is that a fitting memorial is being constructed and every single person working at that site is aware of the magnitude of their efforts. At the Flight 93 site, a lone volunteer mans the site, providing periodic presentations and answering questions. Beyond that, it is a tiny little square of land amidst a huge open field, filled with trinkets, tokens of appreciation, and mementos left behind by site visitors.
My feelings about what happened to the people that died where that flag now flies are perfectly summed up by a letter hanging at the site:
In case you can't read it, the letter says:
This site is where Flight 93 crashed. Its real destination was the White House.If it weren't for four brave men who knows what would have happened to the government. This country honors those men as heroes. September 11, 2001 was a terrible day, but it could have been worse. I thank those men.
Joshua Phillips
7-01-05
Anderson, SC
There are plans to build a permanent memorial at the Flight 93 site. Fundraising efforts have, thus far, been somewhat lackluster. Awareness is certainly not what it should be. I feel like people are starting to forget the sacrifice the people aboard that plane knowingly made.
I refuse to forget.
Advertising revenues from this site are normally deposited in full to Alexis' savings account. It's her blog, so it's her money--every penny of it. However, this month we will be remembering all of the victims of 9/11, and specifically the Flight 93 heroes, by donating all September revenue to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. Ad revenue is determined by page views, so if you would like to help us contribute a little more money, click around. You can also honor the Flight 93 passengers by donating directly here.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Reader Comments (69)
what a great post!! i am sure they will be thankful for ur contribution. awesomem pics.
This is fantastic. I just couldn't bring myself to do a post on 9/11, today. It's still too raw and close to home, for me, but I'm really glad to see somebody else doing something so great.
You are amazing. Thank you for the reminder. Thank you for posting this, Michelle.
Well written! I was thinking about that family this morning.
Amazing. Well written. Amazing pictures. Thanks for this post.
We never forget around here. It seems that something is always reminding us. For a long time my husband worked Department of Defense contracts, so that kept it fresh in our minds, but now, it's the mix of things going on in world, the fear I have of how our countries leaders will handle our safety. Will they forget these men and women's sacrifice. The pictures are great! Thanks for sharing them.
Well, I'm crying too. Read this two days later and I'm glad I did because already my emotions were raw. Come to find out they are just as raw today.
These photos and this post and especially the last photo...which you had to know would send us mothers crashing over the edge of emotion....was just perfect and beautiful. Thank you for the awareness and for letting us know how touching this memorial is. I hope to get there sometime soon.
Wow. Just wow.
So beautiful. starting the day in tears.
Thank you for posting these photos!
I'm on it! I can't believe there hasn't been a good response to that, I think those guys were the biggest heroes.
Good post...that's all I can say. I appreciate the photos, and I hope to go someday, myself. I recently reread "Let's Roll". It's amazing what those men did for all of us.
i just found this today, but will spend time clicking around as much as possible. thank you for your generous donation.
i haven't been to the crash site in a few years. thanks for the reminder that this is something i need to do again.
We live close to DC - this site really moved me. Thanks for the post.
Ok, I have linked to your post on my blog. Hope it helps to generate some page views!
What outstanding photos!! I would love to go there someday. What wonderful small memorials are up already, but it deserves more!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
I was living in Brooklyn on 9-11 and I saw the smoking towers with my own eyes on my rooftop. It is a day, that I will never forget.
I share your appreciation for the guys who sacrificed themselves that day. However, I am very disappointed to see that the link to donate leads to a site that basically hasn't been updated in two years; no fundraising stats (how much has been raised so far, for example), no newsletter sent out in two years, etc. It's really a shame. Maybe they need you to light that fire :) but I would first make sure that the project is still active... Off to check out your ads...
Awesome tribute...thank you...I'm off to make a donation.
This is wonderful; I saw the movie Flight 93 like four times, and cried like a baby every time, and this made me cry as well. I don't want ANYONE to forget; and thank you for the excellent photos and the stark reminder of this event.
Thank you for this tribute. Just found your blog through Erin. I'll be back.