Flight 93 Heroes Mourned

washingtonpost.com

Flight 93 Heroes Mourned in Pennsylvania

By DAN NEPHIN
The Associated Press
Sunday, September 11, 2005; 6:20 PM

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. -- Volunteers on Sunday slowly read the names of each of the 40 passengers and crew aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 as peals from two bells marked the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Calvin Wilson, whose brother-in-law, co-pilot LeRoy Homer Jr., was killed, thanked the community for embracing victims' families.

"This is always tough, but I'll do it every year," said Wilson, speaking through tears as he addressed the crowd of 1,000 people, which included U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Gov. Ed Rendell and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

United Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed the plane as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit. Officials believe the hijackers had targeted either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

Ridge praised those who died, saying their actions saved others.

"The passengers and crew are an emblem of America's great glory: freedom and patriotism demonstrated at its highest regard," Ridge said. "Here upon this field of honor, lives were saved and heroes were made."

The Flight 93 Advisory Commission on Wednesday announced the winner of a design competition for a memorial at the 2,000-acre site.

The "Crescent of Embrace" memorial, created by a team of designers led by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, will feature a chapel with 40 metallic wind chimes symbolizing each of the victims.

The design still must be approved by the director of the National Park Service and the secretary of the Interior. Officials are hoping to raise about $30 million for the memorial. The state of Pennsylvania has already donated more than $10 million.
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On the Net:
Flight 93 Memorial Project: http://www.flight93memorialproject.org