Flight 93 Victims' Families Honored At Sept. 11 Memorial
SHANKSVILLE (KDKA) – One by one, the names of the victims from Flight 93 were read at a ceremony at the national memorial in Somerset County Thursday morning.
The passengers and crew lost their lives as they tried to take back control of the plane from hijackers thirteen years ago today.
This year's Sept. 11 anniversary was marked with an honor for the victims' families.
For the families of Flight 93, today is a cruel reminder of a senseless tragedy.
"My brother was violently murdered 13 years ago today with thousands of other Americans," Families of Flight 93 President Gordon Felt said.
But, the day is also a motivator to move forward and to honor and remember their memory. However, they never forget the impact the date Sept. 11, 2001, had on their families and the nation.
"Each year as we reunite with other family members and the whole country focuses on our losses, it opens a wound, but yet that wound sustains us," Felt said.
Felt's brother, Edward Porter Felt, was one of the 40 who perished that morning. As president of the Families of Flight 93, he accepted one of the three Congressional Gold Medals of Honor, which was awarded in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.
The medal was given as the greatest thank you to the brave flight crew and passengers credited with attempting to take back the hijacked plane.
It's an honor, that today and through the weekend, will be on display in Shanksville.
After, it won't be seen until next year's anniversary when the Flight 93 National Memorial's finished visitors and educational center is finished.
Over the past 13 years, things here have really evolved from a large rural field to a beautiful tribute to the 40 people who lost their lives.
What has remained the same is that on this day, only the families are able to walk out to the crash site.
"I'm very encouraged that so many people are coming out to the memorial here. Certainly going to the memorial in New York and at the Pentagon, it shows me that our loved ones and their collective actions aren't being forgotten," Felt said.
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