# 3113. Go to Flight 93 Crash Site and Memorial near Shanksville

On our way to West Virginia from Johnstown, PA, we passed a sign that said “Flight 93 National Memorial”. We decided to stop and check it out since it was only about 9 miles off the interstate and we didn’t know when we’d have this opportunity again.

Flight 93 National Memorial is near Shanksville, PA where United Flight 93 crashed into the countryside after being taken over by terrorists on 9/11. It is run by the U.S. Park Service. The hubby was surprised on how quickly they created the memorial. I was amazed by the sheer size of the memorial.

I will be honest. Flight 93 National Memorial was not what I expected. It is so much more. I was expecting an obelisk type monument in the field with maybe the list of the victims. The Memorial is a museum, walking path, and memorial wall. It is spread out that you can either walk or drive between the Museum and the Memorial.

When you first arrive at the Welcome Center, a Park Ranger is there to meet you and tell you where everything is located. You follow the sidewalk, or a timeline of the final flight path, to the Visitor’s Center. Inside the Visitor Center is an exhibit area showcasing the day’s events. You can listen to the final phone calls from the passengers to their love one’s answering machines. That is very moving. There is personal debris, such an ID badge or a parking garage ticket, from the crash site along with other debris and artifacts from 9/11. What surprised me the most was how empty Flight 93 was for a cross-country flight. There were only 40 passengers and the plane was not even half full.

Outside the visitor’s center is an overlook of the crash site and trail heads.

To get to the Memorial Plaza you can either drive, which we did, or you can walk the Allee, which is a path that connects the Visitor Center to the Memorial Plaza. Along the Allee is the 40 Memorial Groves – a Grove of 40 trees one for each of the victims. The Allee crosses the wetlands by the Wetland Bridge. If I wasn’t with the hubby, I probably would have walked the trail to the Memorial Plaza.

The Memorial Plaza marks the edge of the crash site and is the final resting place for the passengers and crew. There is a wall with the names of the victims of on it. Also if you look through the gate at the end of the wall, you can see a limestone boulder that marks the actual crash site. I was disappointed not to be able to actually walk to the boulder.

The Memorial Wall

The Boulder Marks the actual crash site

The National Park Service did an excellent job with the Memorial. Like I said it was more than I expected to see. Flight 93 Memorial is one of those things that you must do if you are in the area. Take an hour out of your journey to stop, learn about one of the events on one of the most tragic day in days in our history, and remember the heroes that fought back to protect our country from further disaster.