Remembering Flight 93: Families and park service work to preserve the legacy, heroism of passengers, crew

When the calendar turns to Sept. 11, it’s like 2001 all over again for Gordon Felt.

It doesn’t matter if it’s been six years, 13 years or, like this week, 24 years since that day. The importance of remembering his brother, Edward Porter Felt, and the 39 others who were on United Flight 93 when it crashed in a Somerset County field remains.

“The 24th anniversary’s no different than the first anniversary or the 10th,” Felt said. “Each one is very poignant and rips that scab off our family wound, as well as a nation. It reminds us of what we lost that day.”

But there are millions of Americans who don’t remember it.

Keeping those memories alive is important as a new generation becomes tasked with carrying on the history that happened at what is now Flight 93 National Memorial.

“It’s something that we have to be cognizant of, that history, and not just pigeonhole it to a certain day of the year,” said Ed Root, whose cousin, Lorraine G. Bay, was a flight attendant. “The story of Flight 93 resonates with so many people because of how quickly they came together.”

On Thursday, the sound of bells ringing will cascade over the rural land and the names of those who died there will echo in the morning air during the 24th annual Moment of Remembrance ceremony. The stories of the 40 passengers and crew will fill the hearts and minds of their loved ones and park staff, as well as the visitors who come to honor and remember them.

Thursday’s ceremony is open to the public at the Stonycreek memorial off Route 30. It starts at 9:45 a.m. and will last 30 minutes.

United Flight 93 crashed in what was a rural Southwestern Pennsyl­vania field at 10:03 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, after being hijacked by terrorists in a coordinated attack. Those aboard fought back to take control of the aircraft after learning other hijacked planes crashed into targets in New York City and Washington, D.C.

The people who have dedicated their lives and careers to making sure the world knows the story of Flight 93’s passengers and crew members say every Sept. 11 — and every day — calls for a moment of reflection.

“The 24th isn’t any less painful than the 20th, than the 10th, for families,” said Stephen Clark, park superintendent.

That annual reminder, though not a milestone anniversary, should not be overlooked so “that we never forget and that we don’t ever take for granted the sacrifice of these 40 individuals,” he said.

Still, many Americans have no memory of Sept. 11, 2001, said Donna Gibson, executive director of Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial. The organization this year is expanding its free Teach to Remember 9/11 program, which will connect with about 22,000 students around the world in fourth through 12th grades.

Telling the story

Park rangers will present two livestreams daily this week and have question-and-answer sessions with students about the site, black box data and communications from passengers and crew. Registration remains open, and the materials will be available through the end of the year.

“Their bravery and heroism should be honored every day, not just on the anniversary,” Gibson said. “The farther we get away from the event, the more difficult it is to have people remember.”

Root said it’s an example of how there are two groups when it comes to a major historical event — “us” and “them.”

“When something of that historic nature happens, all of us who were there, who lived through that, it happened to us collectively,” he said.

He compared Sept. 11, 2001, to the historical significance of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 — it was an older generation, or “them,” that lived through that. To the current, younger generation, “them” has become those who experienced Sept. 11, 2001.

“But as time has gone by, it’s no longer ‘us,’ it’s something that happened to ‘them’ … and I think that’s the challenge with Flight 93,” Root said.

Getting the story of Flight 93 and its heroes to a younger generation is an ongoing mission of the park and its Friends group. They received a little help last month during a visit from New York City police Officer Austin Glickman, who did tours and interviews at the memorial and posted multiple videos on social media.

@officerglick Join us for a private tour of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Fourty heroes onboard lost their lives, protecting their country. #september11 #neverforget #september11th #flight93 #waronterror #flight93memorial #thinblueline #thinredline #firstresponders #nationalpark ♬ original sound - OfficerGlick

“It was just their way of trying to let folks know about what happened out here,” Clark said.

Both he and Gibson are planning special events leading up to and during the 25th memorial on Sept. 11, 2026. The Friends group has a commemorative 2026 calendar available on its website featuring less-seen sides of the park. Gibson said a lecture series is being planned for the spring and the 2006 film “United 93” will be re-released at the Gettysburg Film Festival with a discussion panel.

The 25th commemoration is expected to be two hours with four to five speakers, a choir and band in addition to the mainstay moments that are traditionally part of the ceremony, Clark said. He is expecting a large attendance as Sept. 11, 2026, is a Friday.

“The world changed that day,” he said. “It’s been 24 years, which seems like an eternity, but it wasn’t that long ago.”