Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund officials visit Flight 93 memorial, meet with community

“You are not forgotten.”

That was the message Allison Turkel wanted to make clear for anyone who responded to the Flight 93 crash site in Stonycreek on Sept. 11, 2001.

Turkel, who was appointed in March as special master of the federal Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, was joined by members of the World Trade Center Health Program on Wednesday afternoon, where she made her first visit to the national memorial.

On Wednesday evening, the contingent met with community members and first responders to raise awareness about each program.

The fund was established for people who were at the crash sites at some point between Sept. 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, and who have since been diagnosed with a 9/11-related illness.

“One of the things I knew we wanted to focus on was coming out to these places and reaching out to as many people as possible who may be eligible for the program,” said Turkel, who grew up in Manhattan in New York City.

In advance of her visit, Turkel and VCF officials encourage local first responders to spread the word about Wednesday night’s meeting, which was closed to the media.

“One of the main obstacles we encounter is that people don’t think they’re eligible,” Turkel said. “Some people can’t imagine that being sick 20 years later could be a result of their efforts at the crash site.”

100 claims, 1,000 eligible

Turkel said an estimated 1,000 people responded to the Flight 93 crash site in its aftermath, and despite its immediate designation as a restricted FBI investigation site, “it wasn’t set up where they were able to get the names of everyone who helped out.”

Turkel said that so far, only 100 claims had been processed from Flight 93 responders.

“Obviously, not everyone gets sick, but that is a very small number,” Turkel said. “People came from several local Red Cross branches, many local police departments, there were the people who dealt with the remains. There was even an arborist who was brought in to retrieve remains from the surrounding trees.”

It is estimated that 400,000 people were potentially exposed to dangerous toxins and chemicals while aiding with rescue attempts and cleanup efforts in New York City. So far, 57,000 of those claims have been filed and the program has paid out more than $12 billion to those affected. It was also recently reauthorized until 2090.

In Stoystown, the conditions following the crash were much different than the World Trade Center or the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

“There were no buildings involved here,” Turkel said. “The toxins here are attributed mostly to fuel sinking into the dirt and items from the plane, itself. We tell people: register, even if you’re not sick, because it’s an easy thing to do.”

Turkel and other federal officials laid a wreath at the memorial wall following their tour.

For more on the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, see VCF.gov.

This story was updated to reflect the location of the Flight 93 memorial.