Flight 93 Memorial News

Flight 93 National Memorial  Dedication:  September 11, 2011 
Saturday, February 21, 2009 (Tribune-Review -  McClatchy-Tribune) 

State and federal officials pledged Friday to dedicate the Flight 93 National 
Memorial, designed to honor the  passengers and crew who died 
Sept. 11, 2001, in Somerset  County, on the 10th anniversary of the 
terrorist  attacks.

The memorial will honor the 40 passengers aboard the flight who wrested 
control of the airplane   from terrorists before they could hit a target in 
Washington.  The terrorists hit their marks at the World Trade Center 
and the Pentagon. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field in Stonycreek 
Township. 

Gov. Edward Rendell said a long-awaited road off Route 30, providing 
better access to the crash site   near Shanksville, will be constructed 
during the first phase of the project. 

Rendell plans to seek funding for the $10 million, 2.5-mile road from the 
federal public-lands trust or   from other government sources. 

"Either way, we will build the road. The goal is to have it up and running 
by Sept. 11, 2011," Rendell   said. 

After completion, the road will be turned over to the National Park 
Service, he said. 

"Our intention today is to have the (first phase) memorial open and 
available for people to visit no later   than Sept. 11, 2011," Rendell 
said yesterday. "Fifty years hence, people could come from around
the world and hear that story -- what those 40 brave people did 
on that day." 

Family members of the victims were present for the commitment 
announcement.                                      

"That (road) is huge,"  said Patrick White, vice president of the 
Families of Flight 93. "What you are  seeing and hearing today are 
pieces of the puzzle that were key and are now in place."  The first 
phase will complete approximately 40 percent of the development, 
which is expected to draw as many as 250,000 visitors a year. The 
development focuses on providing a close view of the   crash site, 
according to the project's Web site. A plaza with a ceremonial wall 
and drop-off will   separate visitors from the crash site. 

Updated renderings of the winning memorial design by architect Paul 

Murdoch will be available at   the May 2 meeting of the Flight 93 Memorial
 Task Force and Flight 93 Advisory Commission, according to National Park 
Superintendent Joanne Hanley.                                      

The pledge includes a timeline of targeted milestones. 

From the outset, memorial planners had hoped to have the entire project 
completed by the 10th anniversary   of the attacks, but delays resulted 
from property acquisition and funding. The announcement  yesterday   
didn't include a final date for the memorial's completion. The timeline sets 
completion and approval of construction design documents for July  30, 
with groundbreaking   a few months later on Nov. 7. Final inspection of 
the first phase is planned for Sept. 1, 2011, with dedication on Sept. 11. 

"This was always going to happen," said Deborah Borza of North Carolina, 
whose daughter, Deora Bodley, was aboard Flight 93. "This memorial is a 
done deal for me." 

With yesterday's pledge, she said: "I get to hold everybody to account. 
I have to hold them accountable, or answer to my daughter." 

King Laughlin of the National Park Foundation said more than one-third 
of the $30 million in private donations   has been raised. 

"Flight 93 is the Valley Forge, the Gettysburg and the Pearl Harbor of 
the 21st century," he said.  "National   parks are our nation's memory.  
This will be how we remember Sept. 11."                                      

The permanent monument  will be constructed near the temporary 
memorial, which initially developed   spontaneously in the days shortly 
after the crash when visitors left flowers, flags and letters at the site. 

Mementos left at the temporary site have been collected and eventually 
will be exhibited at the permanent   memorial.                                      

In addition to private donations, the $58 million memorial is expected to 
be built with funding from public sources - principally the federal 
and state governments.