Plans for Shanksville anniversary announced
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) – Family members of all the victims aboard United Flight 93 are expected to attend a ceremony at the rural crash site on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, organizers said Monday. Only about half of the families have made their way to the remote site, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Most arrived the week following Sept. 11.
At the request of family members, the memorial will be simple, said Susan Hankinson, the Flight 93 coordinator for Somerset County.
“The families have entrusted us to care for their loved ones at this place of quiet beauty,” Susan said. “We must and will respect their wishes. We ask all others to act accordingly in allowing this memorial service to remain a solemn remembrance to those brave souls.”
The ceremony will last about one hour, culminating at 10:06 a.m. – the moment Flight 93 crashed.
Flight 93 was the only one of four planes hijacked Sept. 11 that did not claim a life on the ground. Investigators believe passengers fought with their captors before the plane, which may have been headed toward a target in Washington, crashed near Shanksville. There were 40 passengers and crew aboard, and four hijackers.
A 2,000-pound bell will toll 40 times in honor of the passengers and crew, Hankinson said.
Massive bells will also ring at the site of the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon in honor of every person who died when three hijacked planes struck those buildings.
As many as 30,000 people may attend the memorial, Hankinson said.
Crowd control in the sparsely populated region of western Pennsylvania could prove trying, Hankinson acknowledged. Nearby Shanksville, the one-shop town that has played host to thousands of people visiting the site, has a population of 260 people.
Security will be extremely tight to protect the families, Somerset County officials said. Before and during the ceremony, no one will be allowed to drive near the site, which has a steady stream of visitors arriving every day.
The area around the crash site will be secured three days before Sept. 11. Anyone wishing to attend the memorial will be bused in from parking lots outside the security cordon.
The site is now open to the public. Approximately 45 people arrived at the temporary memorial in the span of about 20 minutes Monday, not including 52 horsemen riding through the area to honor Sept. 11 victims. Four members of the Oklahoma Western Heritage group are riding from Oklahoma City to New York as part of the “Ride 4 America.”
Tim Myers, a weather-worn cowboy who had traveled almost 1,200 miles on horseback to reach the site, said the ground has spiritual significance.
“I had chills running down my spine,” said Myers, who was wearing leather chaps and a wide-brimmed hat. “They’re heroes. I feel proud to call them my countrymen.”
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On the Net:
Flight 93 Memorial: http://www.flt93memorial.org
Ride4America: http://www.ride4america.com