A Rock in a Field

The picture above is just a big rock in an open field, right? Hardly.

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful autumn weather and we took a drive to see the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA. The open field is the actual crash sight of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, and the rock indicates the exact spot where the plane hit the earth. Only family members of those who died in that crash are permitted out onto the field, which is truly hallowed ground for those who died and their survivors. If you look closely, you can see small American flags that have been placed by that rock.

The Memorial currently consists of a walkway in front of the field that you see above, and a wall of white marble with names of the 40 heroes of Flight 93. A complete visitors' center is planned and scheduled to be completed by 2014. The whole Memorial is under the supervision of the National Parks Service, so you can be assured that the Memorial is and will be completed and run in top notch fashion.

While the completed visitors' center will be great, don't wait until its completion to visit the Memorial if you are so inclined. It is a most sobering feeling to walk the ground and try to imagine the events of that day.

It was quite crowded yesterday, which given the weather and the fact that it was Saturday is probably not surprising. What was surprising, to me at least, were the number of bikers -as in motorcyclists - who were there. We literally saw hundreds of bikers both at the site and headed toward it as we left and headed for home. I have no comment to make on that. Just thought it interesting.

Anyway, I would recommend that everyone, particularly those who live in western PA, make an effort to visit this site. It is a most emotional experience.