Let's Roll

While we have places to go and see today, the main objective is Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA. I have chosen not to show the other places we visited so as not to diminish the importance of this sight.  ( all pictures are clickable and will enlarge )

We visited here one other time and it was one of the most moving experiences in my life. Every time I hear someone is going to be in the area, I have told them F93 is a must see.

Shanksville sits almost to the Maryland border and east of Pittsburgh.

Flight 93 Memorial is all about those 40 passengers and crew members that forced the last of 4 planes down on 9/11. The plane crashed into a reclaimed coal strip mine, which is the site of F93. More reading here.

The area is very rural

Entrance

Walk way to the Memorial

Items left by visitors in the tradition of the previous site

Stone wall with a section for each passenger

View down the wall and gate to the crash site

The rock is where the plane crashed looking thru the gate

The crash site

Looking back at the Memorial

I did a RR (ride report) on Flight 93 when we visited here in 2009. The old site was simply a 40 foot chain link fence, a tool shed, benches and some donated memorials. It sat up on the hill where the new VC will be going looking down at the crash site. The new site is eloquent, splendid but (in my opinion) sanitized. The old site was impactful, personal and brought tears to my eyes. I asked a ranger what happened with the old fence and he said that everything was carefully catalogued. There are over 50,000 pieces of personal articles left by millions of visitors at the old site. When the new visitor center is complete they will put some of the hats, ribbons, pins, and flags on display.

The 40 foot Fence

This is still a must see at least once in your lifetime. We all experienced that day in history.