Sep 12, 2004 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

SHANKSVILLE – Joe T. Joseph, commander of the Uniontown American Legion, had to shorten his program after a group of school buses transporting veterans and local Legion families to the Flight 93 crash site got lost. But that didn’t stop Joseph from getting his message across.

Joseph, with the help of Fayette County Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink and a group of Junior ROTC members from Albert Gallatin Area High School, addressed a crowd of more than 100 people at the Flight 93 Chapel, just a few miles from the crash site.

“This program has been dedicated to those emergency personnel who gave and give so much and receive so little,” Joseph said. “The lives of 3,000 citizens were snuffed out in the most horrific attack on America. …We must never forget.”

Joseph spoke proudly about the patriotism of Uniontown, telling the crowd that 850 flags and 50 POW-MIA flags fly through the city on national holidays and special occasions, but he also reminded residents that terrorism comes in many forms.

“Some terrorists tore down and cut three flags,” Joseph said. “I want to rid the nation of terrorists. I want to bring every soldier home safe from Iraq, but I can’t do it alone.”

The hour-long ceremony, part of a day of services at the chapel, honored veterans from all major American wars of the 20th and 21st century, with about a dozen World War II veterans and two Iraq War veterans receiving rousing applause and a standing ovation.

Joseph also spoke about the loss of loved ones in the current war and his recent trip to Walter Reed Hospital, where he visited 122 wounded soldiers from Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland and Somerset counties. Joseph said the sacrifice of the soldiers is intricately linked with the sacrifices of the 40 strangers aboard Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.

Zimmerlink, who traveled with the Legion to the chapel, also said that without the sacrifice of people like the Flight 93 passengers and crew, the nation could not succeed.

“We should sincerely thank God that we have people in America like the 40 unarmed individuals and the service men represented here.”

About five miles away from the chapel, during a different sort of ceremony at the crash site, federal and state representatives announced the beginning of the Flight 93 National Memorial Design Competition.

In addition to Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Rep Bill Shuster, P. Lynn Scarlett, assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior, addressed family members of the victims and the media concerning the competition to design the new memorial.

“The memories still echo here and tell of the crushing loss,” Scarlett said. “We have returned to mourn and remember. …Families of those who fell came together with this community.”

Scarlett said Congress authorized the memorial competition process two years ago and that for the next four months, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and the Design Oversight Committee will accept design proposals for the new, permanent memorial.

Scarlett said three to five finalists will be selected in February and then additional design development will begin, with the winner selected and announced Sept. 11, 2005.

The site will span 2,200 acres, incorporate the homemade memorial that has been maintained since days after the crash and retain the integrity of the crash site itself.

“This field of honor has been blessed by the offerings of those who have donated their memories,” Scarlett said.

Calvin Wilson, a relative of one of the victims of the crash and a member of the oversight committee said the new memorial will allow everyone to remember what really happened to Flight 93 that day.

“When my son and his son come here, they will know the real story,” Wilson said.

Anyone interested in the competition can find additional information at flight93memorialproject.org.