Flight 93 National Memorial To Be Dedicated This Weekend

As America prepares to remember the events of September 11, 2001, many memorials are being planned around the country for this weekend, most notably at the World Trade Center Memorial, which will be officially opened on Sunday, September 11. However, another significant dedication will be taking place in the Pennsylvania countryside at the site of a former strip mine, where 10 years ago, 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93 thwarted a planned attack on the nation’s capital by ensuring one of the planes never reached its intended target.

This weekend, September 10-11, 2011, the Flight 93 National Memorial will be officially dedicated and the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks observed. At Saturday’s dedication, officials and national figures such as former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will be on hand to pay tribute to Flight 93 during the dedication. The memorial grounds where Flight 93 crashed have been transformed into a peaceful and solemn setting that features wide grassy areas, wildflowers and the initial phase of the memorial’s construction, which includes a black wall tracing the perimeter of the crash site, a Ceremonial Gateway, and a white marble Wall of Names. Two more phases are still planned for the memorial before it will be complete. So far, more than a million people from around the world have traveled to the site, and countless volunteers and local residents have committed to honoring the passengers and crew by caring for their final resting place.

The National Park Service is inviting the public to be part of this solemn and historic observance. For full details on the Flight 93 National Memorial, check the National Park Service’s Flight 93 National Memorial page.