House Bill Seeks Support For Flight 93 Memorial

WASHINGTON -- The National Park Service and local officials where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed asked a congressional subcommittee on Tuesday to support a bill to expedite a national memorial at the Sept. 11 crash site.

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 9/11 Memories What Has Changed? What Is Different? WTC Memorial Service Attack Timeline Print U.S. Flag Patriotic E-Cards IMAGES Woman Captures WTC Impact Attack On WTC Attack On Pentagon Pentagon Impact Hijackers' Info. More Images

Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes testified that stories she heard from those scouring the crash site of the terrorist-hijacked jet convinced her it was hallowed ground.

"Piece by piece, the puzzle came together and we soon realized that the smoldering crater in an abandoned strip mine in Stonycreek Township marked more than the scarred earth of a plane crash," Tokar-Ickes testified. "It cradled the remains of individuals who exemplified the highest of human ideals."

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, the Johnstown Democrat who represents the 12th Congressional District where the plane crashed, wants a national memorial at the site to be maintained by the National Park Service.

Investigators believe some of the 40 passengers and crew who died fought with the four hijackers and caused the plane to crash into a field near Shanksville, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, instead of its apparent target in Washington.

In testimony before the House Resource Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, federal officials noted that Murtha's bill would dispense with the 50 years for a site to earn national memorial designation.

Earlier this year, Murtha obtained $1 million to secure the crash site with guards and fences. Murtha, a 27-year veteran of Congress, is the ranking member on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Click here to review the Somerset crash site in pictures.

Previous Stories:

• June 11, 2002: Flight 93 Widow Visits Sewickley School
• May 31, 2002: Giuliani Delivers Message Of Courage To Grads
• March 24, 2002: FBI: Flight 93 Relatives May Hear Tapes
• March 11, 2002: Shanksville Commemorates Crash Of Flight 93
• February 12, 2002: Buy Sept. 11 Bracelets
• December 6, 2001: Dispatcher Talks About Flight 93 Phone Call
• November 15, 2001: Flight 93 Hijacker's Voice Recordings Released
• October 11, 2001: Pilot Witnessed Flight 93's Final Moments
• September 12, 2001: Cities Knew Plane Was Coming, But Not Where