President Biden, VP Harris, former President Trump all visit Flight 93 National Memorial
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- Wednesday marks 23 years since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump all visited the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday to honor the lives lost that day.
The Flight 93 National Memorial in rural Somerset County, a little more than an hour from Pittsburgh, marks the place where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers and crew voted to fight back against a group of hijackers.
United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four planes hijacked that morning. Two crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and a third crashed into the Pentagon. It's believed the terrorists aboard Flight 93 intended to target the U.S. Capitol building.
Forty Flight 93 passengers and crew members lost their lives that day.
Sheryl Stoll, who came out Wednesday, as she does almost every year to honor her cousin, Flight 93 Captain Jason M. Dahl, says he was a hero.
"Jason would say to family, definitely to me, if he ever had to take his plane in, he prayed that it would be in an unpopulated area, just an open field. And even when I say it today, it gives me goosebumps because that's exactly what happened," said Stoll.
Another family member who was there Wednesday morning was Gordon Felt. His brother, Edward Porter Felt, was on the flight that fateful morning.
Gordon says that he hopes the memory of his brother and the other passengers and crew that were lost never fade from memory.
"Sept. 11 is a difficult day. The scab is torn again. Thinking back to all we lost, my brother, our family, the family of the 40 heroes that are remembered in a very public way every year. But at the same time, it is also encouraging that there is still interest, that we are still talking about Sept. 11, and people are still coming out to the memorial," Felt added.
Public events held at the Flight 93 National Memorial
The service started at 9:45 a.m., but folks started showing up as early as 7 a.m. to reflect and remember the 40 people on Flight 93 who lost their lives while trying to prevent the terrorists on board from flying the airplane ultimately into the U.S. Capitol building. As each person's name was read, two bells tolled in their memory.
The families of the victims laid a wreath at the crash site.
"The character of the passengers and crew showed who they were that day by putting others first," said Rev. Daniel Lawrence of the Pennsylvania State Police. "Their individual and cooperative actions that day saved many innocent, unsuspecting lives from tragedy. Today, there are individuals here from all professions, all walks of life, families, and backgrounds, but the one thing we all have in common is this: We're part of humanity."
Every speaker asked that folks not only continue to keep remembering, but schools keep teaching the stories and lessons from Sept. 11, so that we as a country never forget.
Biden and Harris visit Flight 93 National Memorial
President Biden and Vice President Harris arrived in Pennsylvania to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial Wednesday.
In a statement, Mr. Biden said, in part, that "the heroes of Flight 93, who confronted terror with absolute courage and undoubtedly saved more American lives."
Before heading to Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden and Harris participated in a commemoration ceremony at ground zero in New York City at 8:30 a.m.
In a statement, Harris said, in part, that "we should all reflect on what binds us together as one: the greatest privilege on Earth, the pride and privilege of being an American."
President Biden and Vice President Harris laid a wreath at the memorial site just after 1 p.m. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was also expected to attend.
Following the ceremony, Mr. Biden and Harris traveled to Washington, D.C. for a similar ceremony at the Pentagon.
Trump also visits Flight 93 National Memorial
Former President Trump followed a similar path through Somerset County as Biden and Harris on Wednesday, going to the Flight 93 National Memorial. Trump took part in a private wreath-laying ceremony.
He also placed a wreath at the crash site before leaving.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, also stopped at the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department and spoke with firefighters while looking at their memorial.
Before coming to Pennsylvania, Trump also appeared at the 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City.