Remembering Flight 93: 9/11 ceremony honors passengers, crew members

About 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Terry Butler of Somerset headed to his job in Stonycreek, already very concerned.

He had heard about terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.

Then he looked up and saw a plane.

“It was just going too fast and too low,” said Butler.

Suddenly, the plane banked and went down. Butler later found out he’d watched United Flight 93 crash, after its passengers and crew attempted to retake the plane from al-Qaida terrorists intent on using it as a weapon.

Butler held back tears as he talked about coming to the Flight 93 National Memorial on the anniversary of the crash, as he has for 22 years.

Terry Butler of Somerset saw Flight 93 go down from work in 2001 near the crash site. “It was just going too fast, too low. I saw all of it.” pic.twitter.com/gXbn6B0IiB

— Patrick Varine - Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) September 11, 2023

“It’s important that we keep telling the story, especially for those who aren’t around,” he said.

Butler was wearing a shirt from the annual Heroes Walk event that takes place on the memorial grounds, where several hundred people joined local, state and federal officials Monday to observe the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Waiting for 9/11 remembrance to begin at the Flight 93 memorial in Stonycreek. pic.twitter.com/MtTWyP0dUr

— Patrick Varine - Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) September 11, 2023

Butler’s admonition to keep telling the story of those who died in the attacks was not lost on the event’s organizers.

This year marked the debut of the “Teach to Remember 9/11” project, a partnership between the National Park Service, Friends of Flight 93 and the National Writing Project. As an additional element of the annual National Day of Learning, tens of thousands of students across the U.S. and abroad watched the ceremony via livestream.

Two large bells tolled after a 2003 Shanksville-Stonycreek graduate read the name of each person killed in the crash. Ringing the bells were retired Shanksville-Stonycreek art teacher Joy Knepp and metal artist Jan Loney, who worked with local students to create a sculpture depicting seed pods bearing their hand prints.

Monday’s ceremonies included a wreath laying led by survivors’ families in the afternoon.

The National Writing Project is hosting a website where educators and students can access resources about Sept. 11. It encourages them to write stories based on lessons learned from Flight 93 and the 40 passengers and crew who stopped the plane originating from Boston that federal officials believe was headed toward Washington, D.C.

9:28—Flight 93 was hijacked over eastern Ohio. The plane’s radio mic was activated during the attack and air traffic controllers in Cleveland briefly heard one of the pilots shouting, “Mayday! Mayday! Get out of here! Get out of here!”#September11th #Honor93 pic.twitter.com/JY38xGfAjn

— Flight 93 NMEM (@Flight93NPS) September 11, 2023

Dustin Heming of Blairsville has been to the national memorial before, but Monday was the first time he attended a remembrance ceremony.

“I think it’s always important for people to remember, especially in this day and age,” he said.

For Travyon Griggs, 15, of Shippensburg, it’s impossible to remember — the Sept. 11 attacks happened seven years before he was born. His little sister Kya, 8, played with a miniature stuffed animal during the solemn ceremony, likely with no true understanding of what the word terrorist means.

That is part of the reason their mother Jacqueline brought them.

“I always go to patriotic events,” she said. “I was home for the day, and we decided to just have an education day. I just want them to have the full understanding and know the respect that the families deserve.”

“I want (my kids) to have a full understanding and know the respect the families deserve.” — Jacqueline Griggs of Shippensburg pic.twitter.com/BG5yb0BRGx

— Patrick Varine - Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) September 11, 2023

In the more than two decades since the 9/11 attacks, roughly 75 million American citizens have been born. Friends of Flight 93 Executive Director Donna Gibson said only 14 states require teaching about the attacks in their education curricula.

“What we need to do is find a way to connect with the next generation,” she said. “We want to make sure this story stays relevant in the future.”

Over the weekend, memorial officials dedicated a new feature, the Western Overlook. The renovated area along a trail between the visitors center and Wall of Names allows visitors to learn about the space where families got their first glimpse of the crash site.

Educators can register for the “Write to Remember” program through the end of December at Flight93Friends.org.