It was windy during my visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial and the 40 chimes in the Tower of Voices were ringing out, each one echoing the courage of those who fought back against the 9/11 hijackers the day America was attacked. I stand stunned, gripped by the sight of the grass-covered scar where the plane came down.
A black granite path traces Flight 93’s final path. Along the way is a timeline of that fateful day:
- 8:46:30 AM: 1 World Trade Center, American Airlines Flight 11
- 9:03:02 AM: 2 World Trade Center, United Airlines Flight 175
- 9:37:46 AM: Pentagon, American Airlines Flight 77
The National Parks monument features the Wall of Names, where polished white marble panels bear witness to the 40 passengers and crew members who perished in the crash. The walkway culminates at the impact site, marked by a 17-ton sandstone boulder, signifying the plane’s final resting place.
Visitors linger at the overlook, nationalities from all over the world. Flowers color the dark stone, vibrant against a cloudy sky. People read descriptions of the tragedy: The Threat in the Air, America Attacked, Fighting Back.
Knowing the fate of the three hijacked planes before them—two crashing into the Twin Towers and one into the Pentagon—the passengers and crew, mostly strangers to each other, took action. They rushed from the back of the plane toward the cockpit. In the life-and-death struggle with the hijackers, the plane rolled upside down and crashed into the earth at 563 miles per hour.
Here, at the edge of that Pennsylvania field, heroism is etched into stone and air alike. The passengers and crew of Flight 93, souls united by resolve, transformed tragedy into a testament of the human spirit.