The 9/11 attacks brought previously unthinkable horror and evil home to Americans as terrorists targeted the United States and symbols of its economic and military power. That day also saw incredible heroism and bravery as first responders ran towards the danger to save lives.
The victims and heroes of 9/11 are memorialized at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed. While most of the Flight 93 National Memorial is open to the public, there is one site that is only accessible to a select few visitors.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 left Newark and was on its way to San Francisco when four al-Qaida terrorists hijacked the plane. Using small blades, they murdered one passenger, overwhelmed the pilots, and turned the Boeing 757 back east toward Washington, D.C. Evidence from the 9/11 Commission Report and the Zacarias Moussaoui trial confirms that the Capitol Building was the most likely target for Flight 93.
Because the flight was delayed, passengers aboard Flight 93 were aware of the other hijacked airliners, the ones that struck the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Some 29 minutes after their plane was hijacked, a group of passengers took a vote and decided to fight back.
Passenger Todd Beamer attempted to call his wife from the plane, but was instead connected to a phone operator. Beamer’s last words recorded on the call were, “Are you guys ready? Okay. Let’s roll.” At 9:57 a.m., the passenger revolt aboard Flight 93 began.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder captured sounds of crashing, screaming, and shattering glass. Passengers used a food cart to charge the cockpit and attacked a terrorist standing guard outside. The hijackers at the controls rolled the plane in an attempt to deter the revolt. Although the passengers did not manage to breach the cockpit, their relentless assault resulted in the hijackers deliberately crashing the plane in Pennsylvania.
In the days following 9/11, temporary memorials were set up near the crash site, as officials began the investigation and conducted recovery operations. On August 31, 2009, the National Park Service purchased the land for a permanent United 93 memorial. A white marble Wall of Names was dedicated on September 10, 2011, and the concrete and glass visitor center opened four years later. The visitor center and Wall of Names align with the plane’s flight path. The final installment, the Tower of Voices, was dedicated on September 9, 2018.
Visitors to the Flight 93 National Memorial start at the visitor center and walk the quarter-mile down the Memorial Plaza, which culminates at the Wall of Names. There, forty white polished marble stones bear the names of the passengers and crew who perished aboard Flight 93.
Walking along the Memorial Plaza, visitors can see the impact site and a visible gap in a tree line where Flight 93 crashed. In front of the trees sits a 17.5-ton sandstone boulder. Placed there in 2011, the boulder serves as a final memorial to United 93 and marks the edge of the impact site. This area is closed to the public and is only accessible to the families of the passengers and crew of Flight 93.
