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The name of one of the passengers and her unborn child listed on the Wall of Names at the crash site of United Flight 93 in Stoystown, Pennsylvania September 11, 2001/Photo by Patricia Leslie
At the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial and visible from Highway 30 is the unfinished Tower of Voices, 93 feet high with 40 wind chimes, a "living memorial," the National Park Service writes in its brochure, dedicated on Sept. 9, 2018, a musical monument unique to the world. About 10 of the wind chimes have been installed (there is presently no sound at the Tower) with the rest to be added at irregular times, according to Wikipedia. (A simulated sound may be heard at the NPS website.)/Photo by Patricia Leslie
The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie
The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Inside the Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie
At the visitor center about 1.5 miles away from the Tower of Voices is this walkway which leads to the Western Overlook of the site, following the plane's path before it went down/Photo 
At the Visitor Center, the times and locations of the other three plane crashes are carved in stone on the walkway to the Western Overlook. This says: "9:37:46 AM Pentagon American Airlines Flight 77" /Photo by Patricia Leslie
The Western Overlook at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie
At the Memorial Plaza below the Western Overlook and Visitor Center, the victims' pictures and names are shown with other displays. A cell phone tour is available at no charge. Victims' names are also listed in the memorial brochure and on the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie
The Wall of Names looking towards the Visitor Center on the top of the hill. The locations of the Wall and the Visitor Center follow the trajectory of the plane as it crashed. Paul Murdoch Architects conceived the site with victims' names carved in separate white marble slabs, in a design reminiscent of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. For any memorial of this magnitude, of course there was controversy, and the architect changed the design/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Looking in the opposite direction at the Wall of Names towards the locked gate (in the distance) which leads to the crash site, a holy place where victims' families are permitted to enter. To the left in the distance beyond the black wall border is the crash site/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Beyond the black granite border at Memorial Plaza on the right is the crash site. Places for visitors to leave tributes are fashioned into the wall and collected. Visitors may also leave cards at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie
This direction is opposite the picture two above, with the black granite border on the left defining the crash site. Beyond is the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie
At Memorial Plaza/Photo by Patricia Leslie
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
On this Memorial Day we also remember and pay tribute to the victims of United Airlines Flight 93, the 33 passengers and seven crew members who ended terrorists' efforts on September 11, 2001 before the plane could strike Washington, D.C.*
Only 20 minutes from Washington, the heroism, strength, and bravery of the crew and passengers prevented another tragedy of an aircraft, intending to destroy a national monument.
Flight 93 was the only one of four planes hijacked that awful day which missed its target.
Rather, this plane barreled upside down into the ground at 593 mph in a Pennsylvania field leaving a crater measuring 30 feet by 15 feet deep which the coroner ordered covered. Remains of every victim were found and returned to families and also, left here.
Now a 17-ton sandstone marks the point of the impact with a cluster of hemlock trees nearby.
Flight 93's grave is one of solemnity and peace whose design and place are marked by a sense of guilt and pride that passengers and crew members on a plane took over with nothing more than sheer determination, mission, and force on their side.
Although it is a sad place, still I was left with astonishment over the bravery and charge of strong men and women who did not hesitate to seize control from the perpetrators and save our nation from more terror. The victims made deadly life-changing decisions in seconds. They are forever heroes whose legacy remind us of what we can do on a moment's notice when called to stand and serve.
I wondered what I would do on a plane like this. How about you?
American heroism grows stronger, never ceasing to overcome adversity and challenge like that we face today. We, too, can stand and serve our nation and do the right thing.
* The exact target, the U.S. Capitol or the White House, has never been determined.
What: Flight 93 National Memorial
When: The park is open seven days a week from sunup to sundown, however, the Visitor Center is still closed for covid-19 reasons. When open, the Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all week with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Where: 6424 Lincoln Highway, Stoystown, PA 15567. (Searching for the park's name will take you to the wrong entrance.) It is a trash-free park.
How much: No charge but donations are welcome!
Getting there: Directions are found on the NPS website. From D.C. it's about 3.5 driving hours away.
For more information: (814) 893-6322 or the NPS website
patricialesli@gmail.com
Do not pick up this book unless you have uncommitted hours to read.
On my way to the bed chambers, I made the mistake to stop and unload my bag of library books which included Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival which had been on the reserve list owing to its popularity, and it is no wonder.
It's a spellbinder, all about the crash of United Airlines Flight 232 on July 19, 1989 in Sioux City, Iowa (and not a book recommended for those who may be skittish about flying).
The mysterious cause of the crash, its discovery and the hunt for missing parts scattered over hundreds of miles read like a "whodunit" with lengthy descriptions and photos.
Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 184 (or 185) survived. That any lived is shocking, especially when you see the crash (link below).
Without its tail-mounted engine, flight controls, and only the pilots' ability to turn the plane right, it crashed on a runway with the largest section of the plane landing in a cornfield where some of the passengers were thrown. When the survivors rose from the ground, one rescuer compared them to ghosts rising from a cemetery, while other rescuers thought they were more helpers who had arrived at the airport to help in the recovery.
The author, Laurence Gonzales, a commercial pilot who obviously knows his stuff, conducted hundreds of interviews (many with survivors) and studied many more documents to present an intricately researched, balanced, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute description of the flight, its final minutes, and the aftermath.
The extraordinary skill and experience of the pilots, aided by a flight instructor who happened to be on board, and their abilities to all work together ("crew resource management") resulted in many lives saved. (Perhaps on summer break, elected leaders in Washington could attend a "crew resource management" session(s).)
The harrowing tale follows many of the passengers en route, sketching their life histories and interests, and what happened to them, sometimes years later; however, it is difficult to keep their identities straight and to know, while reading, who lived and who died. (The book has about everything in it except a map of the route from Denver to Chicago's O'Hare with the detour to Sioux City, and a list of all the passengers and whether they lived.)
Yes, I did skip many of the technical parts (e.g., the first half of Chapter Four), and I tried to overlook the color photographs of the makeshift morgue and caskets lined up in a hall at the airport hangar. The 1989 practice of identifying the dead by cutting off fingertips and removing jaws has been discontinued.
See the crash and hear the communications between the control tower and the pilots at laurencegonzales.com, and get ready for a long, but very fast, night.
patricialesli@gmail.com
This is a MD-83 aircraft like the one which crashed today in Mali/Reuters
When it comes to the story today about the Air Algerie tragedy in Africa, Reuters was the first news service I could find to confirm the crash.
Here is a headline timeline in EST:
10:22 a.m. Reuters confirms the plane has crashed
10:38 a.m. Bloomberg News reports the plane has vanished
10:39 a.m. BBC reports the plane is missing
10:41 a.m. CNN says the plane is "lost" and "off radar"
10:42 a.m. Washington Post reports the plane has vanished
10:44 a.m. New York Times has no mention of it on its website
10:50 a.m. Wall Street Journal reports the crash
10:52 a.m. Reuters was added to my "favorites"
The planned route of the Air Algerie flight/Chicago Tribune, NDN
EUMETSAT
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