By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
C’YA

I recall sitting on the living room floor after being awakened by a phone call from my brother. He said, “The lab is okay, but turn on the tv.” The first plane had struck the Twin Towers and then we watched the rest unfold. Our son was in Becky Sim’s afternoon kindergarten class and we would not have to go that afternoon. The next day a lovely letter from Laura Bush was sent home with the students. The world would change forever.

A few years ago, I read, The Only Plane in the Sky by Garret Graff. It was an amazing book that detailed the day minute by minute and through the eyes of a variety of people. I didn’t want to put it down and hoped one day I would get to travel to New York to pay respects.

Earlier this year we were in Rochester, New York for just two days. We wished to get to New York, but the drive would be too far. My husband realized we could get to Shanksville, Pennsylvania. There stands the Flight 93 Memorial. It was astounding to be transported back to that day and be immersed in the story after vividly reading many details.

Here you can understand the motto, “A common field one day. A field of honor forever.” The sleek walls and dark pavement unveil the flight path of the plane that day. While there were very few remnants of the plane, one could see memories saved forever for the sake of history. The identification badge of Todd Beamer an Oracle Corporation employee. His final words on an Airfone, known to many of a certain age of, “Are you guys ready?” Ok, let’s roll,” are etched into the annals of libraries there and across America.

There was replication of what the “black boxes” looked like that recorded the final 31 minutes of Flight 93. The plane was just 20 minutes outside of Washington, DC, the next stop on our journey. My perspective is now that of the Air Traffic Controllers that day. What untold memories they keep.

At 9:25am the Federal Aviation (FAA) orders a nationwide ground stop. One map shows 4,500 commercial and general aviation flights over the US seen as green lights on a black map at 9:40am. At 10:03, the plane comes to a rest in Shanksville. Did you know the Red Cross gave each family a vial of the soil from the crash site of September 2001? This is why we must remember history.

When you arrive at the museum, you see a dark sidewalk and large white columns. What you discover is the path is the final path of Flight 93. Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen

At the end of the sidewalk is the view of where the plane comes to a rest. Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen

When you arrive at the wall, you look down and see that each person on the flight is a panel of the wall. The panels are individual and reflect a backward glance down the path from which the plane came to its destination. (looking back up at the Visitor’s center) Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen

This monument was designed to be seen as a single wall upon approach. Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen

A panel for each passenger on the flight is inscribed with their name. One panel had the name of a woman with a second name etched on the same panel just slightly lower and in a faint font. It was to give witness to the child yet to be born. Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen

Only family members are allowed access to the rock marking the final resting place of the plane. The area is surrounded by a small memorial wall and gate. Visitors leave small coins and similar items on a small ledge of the wall. Courtesy Bernadette Lauritzen