The Flight 93 Memorial, Built in Union City, California
On the historic and tragic day of September 11, 2001 four planes were hijacked to be used as weapons of mass destruction against the citizens of the United States. Three of those planes were utilized by their terrorist abductors to their fullest extent costing thousands of American lives and has left a scar of sadness and anger in our country. The fourth plane, Flight 93, was also intended to be used as a Missile and crashed into either the White House or the Capitol Building, two of our most revered landmarks.
Flight 93 had been delayed at the airport, but after the plane took off the passengers and crew were able to be forewarned of the hijackers intentions by family and loved ones via cellphone. The passengers and crew courageously took immediate action and fought to stop the terrorists from completing their deadly mission. If it were not for their heroic actions, the outcome would have been a mirror image of the devastation and loss of life realized minutes before in New York and the Pentagon. Those 40 courageous passengers and crew members disregarded their own lives and fought back against the hijackers causing the plane to crash into a vacant field in Pennsylvania. They died as American warriors and heroes, no greater love can a person have for their fellow man but to sacrifice their own life to save another.
The plane's original destination was the San Francisco Airport. Most of the Passengers and Crew lived, worked, or grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so we felt it was appropriate to build a Memorial in the San Francisco Bay Area to honor and remember them.
We would like to express our special thanks to:
Congressman PETE STARK of the 13th District, for his support and his gift of a United States flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol. The flag will be raise on the Flight 93 Memorial's flag pole at the dedication of the Memorial once it is completed.
Click here to read Congressman Stark's letter (pdf)
Congressman MICHAEL M. HONDA of the 15th District, for his support, appreciation, and encouragement of the Flight 93 Memorial in Union City, California.
Click here to read Congressman Honda's letter (pdf)
THE STORY OF THE HEROES OF FLIGHT 93
The events of September 11, 2001, are forever etched into the hearts of the family members and loved ones of those who died, the nation and the world. The United States experienced the worst incident of terrorism in its history. The coordinated hijacking of four commercial airliners, the planned attack on symbolic targets, and the murder of innocent people were all tragic and shocking events. The extraordinary responses of individuals to the challenges they faced are inspiring and worthy of remembrance.
On that day, two airliners were deliberately flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. A third plane, was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was delayed in its scheduled departure from Newark, New Jersey, en route to San Francisco, California. About 45 minutes into the flight, as the Boeing 757 was nearing Cleveland, Ohio, it abruptly changed course, heading southeast into the direction of Washington, D.C. Shortly before 10 a.m. it was observed flying low and erratically over southwestern Pennsylvania. At 10:03 a.m., the plane crashed at a cruising speed estimated at more than 500 miles per hour into a reclaimed strip mine at the edge of a wooded area in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Emergency responders, arriving at the scene minutes after the crash, found no survivors. All 33 passengers, 7 crew, and 4 terrorist hijackers were killed.
In the hours and days that followed, an astonishing story about what happened on board Flight 93 was revealed. When the terrorists took over the plane, passengers and crew were able to telephone family members, friends, and emergency dispatchers to report the hijacking. Through these conversations, those on board Flight 93 learned about the horrific events unfolding at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
As their phone conversations revealed, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 realized that their plane was also part of the planned attack. This realization led to a collective decision by the passengers and crew to stop the terrorists from achieving their goal of crashing the plane into another American landmark. The story of the heroic actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 later was confirmed when the contents of the many telephone conversations and the cockpit voice recorder were reviewed. Although the details of what took place on board the flight will never be fully known, all 40 of the passengers and crew are universally recognized as heroes.
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