SHANKSVILLE – On a somber day outside of Shanksville, dignitaries and the public joined to honor the memory of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93.
Flight 93 was one of four planes hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Two of the planes struck the World Trade Center in New York; a third the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Flight 93 never made it to its intended target, believed to be the Capitol Complex in Washington, DC, due to the actions of its passengers and crew.
This year’s anniversary was titled “Upon This Sacred Ground, Courage Remembered.”
Family members and Flight 93 Ambassadors listed the names of the 40 fallen. Each name was followed by the ringing of two bells by on-scene FBI Commander, Wells Morrison and Daniel Boeh, supervisor, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Investigation Team.
Speakers on Friday included former Pennsylvania Gov. and US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Gen. Tommy R. Franks (Ret.), Gov. Edward G. Rendell, Sen. Bob Casey, Congressman Bill Shuster and President of the Families of Flight 93 and brother of passenger and hero Edward Felt, Gordon W. Felt. Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell was the keynote speaker.
Former Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell (Aaron T. Evans)
Powell related that on 9-11-01, he was in Peru at a multi-nation conference eating breakfast with the country’s president when he received his first report: an airplane had struck the World Trade Center. He said there were questions running through his mind: was this a mistake? How big was the plane? He said he received more reports throughout the morning and learned of a second downed plane.
“It was not an accident,” said Powell. “It was a well-coordinated assault on the United States of America.”
He said that he later learned of the two other downed planes, one of which was Flight 93. Powell said the images of the World Trade Center collapsing and the fires at the Pentagon dominated television. He said as the days passed, he came to appreciate Flight 93.
“Forty people struck back,” Powell said of the crew and passengers who saved many others through their actions. “We fight back. We will never be cowed.”
He called the phone calls and communications from those folks insightful and treasured.
“The passengers of Flight 93 were no different than the Citizen Soldiers,” said Powell. “They would be Minute Men and Woman.
“They started the day as they started everyday, expecting to be home with their families. But fate intervened.”
Powell said that through their actions, they saved so many of their fellow citizens.
“What terrorists can never do is change who we are,” said Powell. “What we are … is fearless.”
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar gave the opening remarks. Salazar said the nation would never forget the actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93, calling the fields where the plain went down, “hallowed ground for an eternally grateful nation.”
“The heroes of Flight 93 will always be in our hearts and minds as a nation,” said Salazar.
During Ridge’s speech, he said that greater love has no country than the 40 citizens who laid down their lives for their fellow citizens.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. and US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (Aaron T. Evans)
“Why,” he asked, stating it was a question that many asked after the events of 9-11-01.
He said that we came to reject “why” as a question too profound to understand. He said that today people across the United States and the world gather to remember the 3,000 people who lost their lives, and honor the day that lives were saved and the modern heroes above the skies of Shanksville.
“Eight years ago … 40 heroes revealed not only their individual character, but also the character of America,” Franks said during his speech.
“Their lives were not taken. Their lives were given,” said Franks. “We remember them. We mourn their loss.”
Shuster called the actions of the Flight 93 heroes, “the first counterattack on the war against America.”
Congressman Bill Shuster (Aaron T. Evans)
Shuster, like many of the other speakers, also thanked the families for their family members’ actions, and he also thanked members of the military and law enforcement for all they have done.
When his time came, Rendell praised Park Superintendent Joanna M. Hanley for her hard work in making each year successful. Rendell, who began his speech smiling and joking a little, ended it sobbing and near tears.
Gov. Edward G. Rendell (Aaron T. Evans)
“Those 40 people, who came from … different parts of this world, on that day, they all became Pennsylvanians.”
“We are driven to see a fitting monument built for those 40 individuals,” said Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93, whose brother was among those who gave their lives in Flight 93.
Gordon W. Felt (Aaron T. Evans)
“We like to remember those 40 passengers and crew as heroes,” said Felt. “They thwarted a sinister plot.”
“Our loved ones chose to be courageous. History has labeled them as heroes.”