Today is September 11th, 2022, the 21st anniversary of what many consider the pinnacle of American tragedy. Events, tragedy or victory, that tend to be turning points in history around the world, likely have some sort of memorial or monument for it. Chances are, if you’ve visited New York, you’ve seen or heard about the 9/11 memorial that is currently in place of the former World Trade Center. However the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers wasn’t the only catalyst for the loss of life on that day. There where two other flights. Flight 77 crashed into the pentagon and has its own memorial there, but one that is very likely less visited due to its secluded location, is the Flight 93 memorial
Flight 93 was en route to Washington, D.C., likely targeting a federal building after being hijacked. But due to many phone calls that the passengers took with friends and family, they found out about the fate of the other three planes and voted to fight back against their hijackers. The struggle resulted in the plane crashing in a common field in Pennsylvania. The resting place of the crew and passengers was eventually transformed into a memorial site to remember the ones who sacrificed their lives to prevent the loss of others.
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| The "Tower of Voices," a part of the memorial |
There are a few parts to this memorial, including a tower of forty wind chimes which represent the forty lost voices. There is also a wall of forty slabs of white marble each with the inscribed names of the dead. The wall lies underneath the flight path of the plane, where visitors can read and contemplate each name when, 21 years ago, these people were just above struggling and fearing for their lives. The people visiting are reminded that this is not just a memorial, this is the site of death for these passengers and crew. It may be a common, empty field, but if not for their bravery, it may have been in the heart of D.C with many more names on that wall.
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| "Wall of Names" along the flight path of Flight 93 |
Nice blog Gautham. I think it's great that you decided to write about a lesser known memorial. The 9/11 tragedy is something that we all learn about, and I think it's crazy that many people (including me) didn't even know that memorials for flight 77 and flight 93 existed. The photos also helped capture the reasoning as to why the memorial was designed in such a way.
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