There's no question that the Flight 93 Crash Site is the spot where the War On Terror began.
Until Flight 93 came down at 10:06 am on Sept. 11, 2001 -- a result, it's overwhelmingly believed, of passengers fighting hijackers for control of the plane -- America had just been a VICTIM of terror. Not here in Shanksville, pal.
In this part of central Pennsylvania, the abundance of homemade "Let's Roll!" signs and bumper stickers echo the prevailing sentiment that the Flight 93 Crash Site marks the spot where America started taking action.
The "temporary" national memorial in Shanksville stirs powerful emotions in nearly all who visit. It's in the middle of an open field, miles from the nearest town, and many miles from the nearest freeway interchange or Starbucks. There's room here for all of America to express its opinion.
To get to the Flight 93 Crash Site, visitors drive down an empty two-lane road, past a tall junkyard pile of scrapped Pepsi vending machines and a sign that reads, "We Buy Scrap Metals." On the horizon sit two giant dragline steam shovels, immobile, their rusting hulks marking an old strip mine.
The actual crash site, way out in a big, empty field, is marked with a small cross and an American flag. Back by the road is the ad hoc memorial, created by the people -- like a highway fatality shrine that's been given its own parking area and porta-potties. A small open shed contains a guest register and scrapbooks of photos and newsclips. A length of hurricane fence has been erected to hold hats, photos, poems, home-made signs, etc. Lots of flags flutter in the breeze.
The metal guardrails around the parking lot are covered with patriotic bumper stickers and Sharpie scrawls -- pledges of remembrance, vows of revenge, prayers and thanks from appreciative citizens. People bend over, quietly reading the guardrail. There are benches for sitting -- with names inscribed in them -- another, bigger cross, and a slew of personal messages taped to rocks, photos, and just scattered in the grass.
The Flight 93 Crash Site Memorial reminds us of the massacre site at the Battle of Little Big Horn (without the moral ambiguity) -- a grassy expanse where pretty much everything is left to your imagination. And perhaps that is how it should remain.
It is very quiet here; a good place to meditate over the events of that fateful day.
Sept. 7, 2005: A design for a permanent national memorial was announced, chosen from five finalists after more than a thousand concepts were submitted. The design includes a chapel with 40 metal wind chimes -- one for each crew member and passenger (minus the terrorists, of course).
