Ground Broken For Flight 93 National Memorial

Memorial Planned In Shanksville For United Flight 93 Victims

POSTED: 2:08 pm EST November 7, 2009
UPDATED: 9:38 am EST November 8, 2009

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. -- Officials joined relatives to break ground for a permanent Flight 93 National Memorial to remember ordinary people who undertook an extraordinary task.

With the word's "let's roll," U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and relatives of United Flight 93 victims turned shovels of dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday at noon at the Somerset County crash site in Shanksville.

"We know that Sept. 11, 2001, will stand forever as one of America's darkest days. Yet, in the darkness of that day, we see the light that was illuminated by those who died in valor," Salazar said.

The memorial is set to open by Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th commemoration of the terrorist attacks.

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Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93, said Saturday the victims' courage inspired people to work on the project.

"There is no closure for this kind of event. This Sept. 11 will have a permanent impact on the families and our country, but it's projects like this that give us hope for the future that we can memorialize 40 unique individuals whose brave actions presumably helped save the Capitol building from destruction," Felt said.

The 2,200-acre park funded by government and private donors will feature a chapel with 40 chimes symbolizing each of the victims at its entryway. A path will guide visitors to the crash site.

The plane was traveling from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when it was diverted by hijackers with the likely goal of crashing it into the White House or Capitol.

Families of the victims, as well as rescue workers, helped commemorate the start of the project. They began to see the result of their hard work so future generations will never forget the families and their heroism.

"This memorial also has to be a teaching memorial, a memorial that teaches Americans and others from around the world what happened on Flight 93: The heroism of ordinary citizens, most of whom -- like all of us when we get on an airplane -- didn't know each other," Gov. Ed Rendell said.

The project is broken up into three phases, the first of which is scheduled for completion on Sept. 11, 2011.

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