Where Gumbo was #253
I visited the memorial crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 eleven days after the 16th anniversary observance of what happened on September 11, 2001. Four flights were hijacked that day, two crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth, Flight 93 into a remote field near Shanksville Pennsylvania. Flight 93 never reached its intended symbolic target, most likely the US Capitol building. Heroic passengers and crew rose up against the terrorist hijackers resulting in the eventual crash.
The 2,200 acre field area where the crash took place is now a National Memorial managed by the U.S. National Park Service. A glass and stone visitors center sitting high atop a hill was opened on September 10, 2015.
A pathway and pedestrian bridge lead to the crash site. A large boulder marks the impact site. On the day I was visiting, I noticed a group of people on a large mound by the boulder. One of the park rangers told me that it was a group of family members of the Flight 93 victims walking the impact area.
Near the crash site is a white marble wall with the inscribed names of the victims and a place to leave mementos which get collected by the Park Service.
