Flight 93 National Memorial

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Flight 93 National Memorial
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Flight 93 National Memorial
Location: Somerset County, Pennsylvania, USA
Nearest city: Somerset, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°3′3″N, 78°54′13″W
Area: 2200 acres (1000 federal)
8.90 km²
Established: September 24, 2002
Visitation: 125,000 (in 2005)
Governing body: National Park Service

Flight 93 National Memorial protects the site of the crash of hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, approximately 2 miles north of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A temporary memorial to the 40 victims of the hijacking was established soon after the crash, with a permanent memorial slated to be constructed and completed by 2011. The current design for the memorial is a modified version of the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.

The crash site is located west of Skyline Road, about 2 1/2 miles south of U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), and approximately 2 miles north of Shanksville. The temporary memorial is located on a hill top, 500 yards from the crash site. Indian Lake is located 1 1/2 miles to the east of the crash site.

Contents

[edit] Temporary memorial

The temporary memorial is within walking distance of the crash site, which is only accessible by the families of the passengers. It consists of a 40 foot (to commemorate the 40 passengers) long chain-link fence on which visitors can leave flags, hats, rosaries, and other items. Next to the fence are several memorials such as marble statues, flags, and a large cross. There is also a guardrail on which visitors may leave messages.

There is a small building with a guestbook. The building is staffed by Park Service volunteers, called ambassadors, who answer questions. One of the ambassadors is Nevin Lambert, who is one of the two people to see the plane actually crash. He lives about 75 yards from the crash site.

Items left on temporary memorial at Flight 93 National Memorial

Wooden angels left for crash victims at Flight 93 National Memorial

[edit] Permanent memorial

Of the four aircraft hijacked on September 11, Flight 93 is notable in that it did not reach its intended target, presumed to be in Washington, D.C., perhaps either the United States Capitol or the White House. The passengers had learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center through cellular telephone calls to family. It is believed that at least flight attendants Cee Cee Lyles and Sandra Bradshaw and passengers Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Andrew Garcia, Jeremy Glick, and Richard Guadagno (and perhaps others) fought back against the hijackers. The plane crashed into the Pennsylvania field shortly after 10:00 a.m., killing all on board, but no one on the ground.

Wreath-laying ceremony near the site of the crash of Flight 93 on the one-year anniversary of its hijacking.
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Wreath-laying ceremony near the site of the crash of Flight 93 on the one-year anniversary of its hijacking.

On March 7, 2002, Congressman John Murtha (PA-12) introduced a bill in the United States House of Representatives to establish a National Memorial to be developed by a commission, and ultimately administered by the National Park Service. On April 16, 2002, Senator Arlen Specter (PA) introduced a version of the "Flight 93 National Memorial Act" in the Senate. On September 10, 2002 the bill passed both houses of Congress. The final bill specifically excluded the four hijackers from the passengers to be memorialized. When signed by President George W. Bush on September 24, 2002 it became Public Law No. 107-226, and the site was automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The site of the crash is closed to the general public pending the development of the memorial, but it is accessible to victims' family members. A neighbor has created a temporary memorial on a hilltop, approximately 500 yards north of the crash site. The temporary memorial is on private property, and visitors are asked to remain respectful. Visitors may write their thoughts or simply record their visit in bound books or on comment cards.

Within three years after the act became law, the commission is to submit to the Secretary of the Interior and Congress a report containing recommendations for the planning, design, construction, and long-term management of a permanent memorial at the crash site. The proposed boundaries of the National Memorial extend from Lambertsville Road to U.S. Highway 30. It will be approximately 2200 acres, of which about 1200 will be privately held, but protected through partnership agreements.

[edit] Design competition

[edit] Initial design selection

The benches of the passengers and crew of Flight 93.
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The benches of the passengers and crew of Flight 93.

The commission decided to select the final design for the memorial through a multi-stage design competition funded by grants from the Heinz Foundations and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The competition began on September 11, 2004, and over one thousand entries were submitted. In February of 2005, five finalists were selected for further development and consideration. The jury selecting the final design included 15 members and comprised family members, design and art professionals, and community and national leaders. Over a three-day review period they selected the winning design, and announced it on September 7, 2005. The design entitled Crescent of Embrace by a design team led by Paul and Milena Murdoch of Los Angeles was chosen.

The design featured a "Tower of Voices," containing 40 wind chimes — one for each passenger and crew member who died. It also consisted of two stands of red maple trees to line a walkway following the natural bowl shape of the land. Forty separate groves of red and sugar maples were to be planted behind the crescent, and eastern white oak trees for each victim of the September 11 attacks. A black slate wall would mark the edge of the crash site, where the remains of those who died now rest.

[edit] Controversy

During their deliberations, the use of the term crescent did come up. It was raised in the written comments of one person — out of 400 — who viewed the five finalists on display. In addition, Tom Burnett Sr., whose son (Tom Burnett) died in the crash, said he made an impassioned speech to his fellow jurors about what he felt the crescent represented. "I explained this goes back centuries as an old-time Islamic symbol," Burnett said. "I told them we'd be a laughing stock if we did this." [1]

This design choice initially created controversy because the terrorists who hijacked the aircraft were Muslim and conducted the attacks in the name of Islam. Although Islam accepts no official icon, the crescent (which was symbolic of the Ottoman Empire) is generally recognized as an Islamic symbol and the Red Crescent is used as the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross. The crescent is also represented on a number of flags of countries with Muslim majorities, including Pakistan.

The winning design's crescent is also oriented toward Mecca. While the Belmont Club's Richard Fernandez noted that this may just be a coincidence he went on to note: "But what a coincidence! Memorials are symbols above all and it may be inappropriate to commemorate Flight 93 with a Red Crescent facing Mecca." [2]

The architect asserts that this is coincidental and there is no intent on referencing Muslim symbols. This sentiment has been shared by several victims families as well, such as the family of Ed Felt. Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado has opposed the design's shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam." The Council on American-Islamic Relations has denounced criticism as Islamophobic. [3]

James Lileks, a journalist and architectural commentator, noted in regard to the winning design: "We don't need giant statues of the guys ramming the drink cart into the door. But pedantic though such a monument might be, future generations would infer the plot. All you get from a Crescent of Embrace is a sorrowful sigh of all-encompassing grief and absolution, as if the lives of all who died on that spot were equal in tragedy. They were not." [4]

Mike Rosen of the Rocky Mountain News wrote: "On the anniversaries of 9/11, it's not hard to visualize al-Qaeda celebrating the crescent of maple trees, turning red in the fall, "embracing" the Flight 93 crash site. To them, it would be a memorial to their fallen martyrs. Why invite that? Just come up with a different design that eliminates the double meaning and the dispute." [5]

[edit] Design modifications

In response to criticism the designer has agreed to modify the plan. The architect believes that the central elements can be maintained to satisfy criticism. "It's a disappointment there is a misinterpretation and a simplistic distortion of this, but if that is a public concern, then that is something we will look to resolve in a way that keeps the essential qualities," Murdoch, 48, said in a telephone interview to the Associated Press. [6]

The redesigned memorial has the plain shape of a circle (as opposed to a crescent) bisected by the flight's trajectory. "The circle enhances the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site, officials said in the newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize the path the plane took as it crashed." [7] There is criticism that the redesign does not address any of the issues with the original design. [8]

[edit] Construction

The permanent memorial is planned to be dedicated on either September 11, 2010 or 2011.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

U.S. National Register of Historic Places - (List of entries)

National Park Service . National Historic Landmarks . National Battlefields . National Historic Sites . National Historic Parks . National Memorials . National Monuments
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