Flight 93 Families Want Memorial Controversy To End

POSTED: 2:43 pm EDT May 2, 2008
UPDATED: 5:38 pm EDT May 2, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- Several family members of the 40 passengers and crew who died on hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 said they're fed up with controversies surrounding the design of a national memorial.

The families of four victims held a news conference Friday in Pittsburgh. They said it's time to get on with developing the memorial near Shanksville, where the hijacked airliner crashed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The plane was the only one of four hijacked that day that terrorists were unable to crash into a building. A government inquiry determined the plane crashed as the passengers attempted to wrest control from the four hijackers.

Dozens of plans for the fence and field were narrowed down to one by a panel comprised of family members. High concrete walls will frame pathway of the Flight 93s crash site.

The memorial grove will have 40 sugar maple tree, one for each victim on board, surrounding the sacred ground.

But the planned memorial has been dogged by some critics who said its crescent-shaped design and other features call to mind Islam or subtly include the hijackers alongside the passengers and crew.

"That's really ludicrous and quite hurtful on the part of the families to think that we would want to create a memorial to those who murdered our loved ones," said Gordan Felt, whose brother died in the crash.

"I think it's a matter of dealing with his loss, and this is just drawing attention to it," said Sandy Felt, whose husband died in the crash. "It's just a way for him to cope."

The crescent design has been changed to a circle and religious scholars have rebuked the other theories. But that hasn't stopped the father of passenger Tom Burnett from circulating a petition against the design, which will likely be presented to the panelon Satturday at an organizational meeting in Somerset where they'll announce how much money they've raised for the memorial thus far.

The permanent memorial is expected to be completed by Sept. 11, 2010.

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