Posted on 09/21/2001 5:05:29 PM PDT by Jeff Head
To: The President and the Congress of the United States
Whereas passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, in the richest traditions of American bravery, courage and commitment to the ideals of liberty, did resist and fight foreign terrorists who had taken control of their aircraft, and,
Whereas the resistance of these individuals either contributed to, or caused, the crash of this aircraft before it could reach the intended target of these suicidal terrorists and enemies of the United States of America, and,
Whereas by contributing to or causing the crash of there own aircraft these individuals undoubtedly contributed to the saving of hundreds, if not thousands, of more innocent lives during theattack on America on September 11, 2001.
Therefore, let it be petitioned to the United States Congress and the President of the United States and resolved that:
A National Monument and Memorial be erected at the crash site near Shanksville, PA, where these brave Americans ended the evil designs of our enemies that day, with no regard to their own lives or safety, and,
That said Monument and Memorial stand as a witness at all times, for now and forever, that Liberty has a price, a price paid down through they history of our nation and now paid by these dear patriots who gave their all to protect the lives and liberties of their fellow Americans, and,
That a an inscription of all the names of the passengers and crew of that aircraft be had there and that the names of those who are known to have participated in the resistance to, and attack on the terrorists be noted, namely:
Todd Beamer
Sandra Bradshaw
Thomas Burnett
Jeremy Glick
Linda Gronlund
and any others shown to have been actively involved in the plan to retake the aircraft, and,
That this Monument and memorial be established and built with all due haste, and that it be opened year round to any American desiring to visit.
So petitioned and signed as U.S. citizens.
Sincerely,
BUT: Let's get monuments going in the heroes home towns. Schools should be named for them.
Although I detest it when parks, highways, schools, and other sites are turned into graveyards with trite memorials, I think it is appropriate here. True heroism took place at this sight.
But let's get the National Monumnet up too. Hundreds, perhaps thosuands of lives were saved by that aircraft not reaching its intended target.
The 110-story twin towers, though maligned in their early years by critics who considered them boring, gangly, environmentally destructive and even arrogant, eventually won the hearts of New Yorkers and others worldwide as symbols of soaring aspirations and bold financial success. The world watched in horror on Sept. 11 as passenger jets with terrorists at the helm tore into the towers, eventually crumbling them and leaving thousands missing — 6,333 at last count.
Wouldn't it be the boldest, most defiant move of all for the towers to once again rise from the ashes?
Thursday, September 20, 2001
By Tom Gibb, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
STONYCREEK, Pa. -- Until last week, it was a few remote acres that, like a lot of this part of Somerset County, had been farmed, strip-mined, back-filled and planted over with grass.
Then, nine days ago, in the final nightmarish episode of America's morning of horror, United Flight 93 crashed nose-first into that stretch of ground, killing all 44 people aboard.
With that, state police Maj. Lyle Szupinka said two days later, the land became "a temple burial ground for these victims."
That could be more than talk.
The landowners, a pair of coal companies, said yesterday that they are inclined to donate the ground to become a permanent memorial to the passengers and crew of the Boeing 757.
"If we have a say about it, there's no problem with it," John Weir, land manager with PBS Coals Inc., said yesterday.
"I'd be willing to cooperate in whatever way I could," said Michael Svonavec, secretary-treasurer of the local coal company Svonavec Inc. "It's a site of national interest -- certainly, the way I see it, where we as Americans fought back against terrorism."
Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker yesterday called a memorial "the least we can do."
Talk has yet to progress much beyond the expression of good intentions. Indeed, when county commissioners came Monday to the crash site, bearing a bronze plaque with the victims' names, they conceded that they didn't know if there would be a memorial there at which to place the marker.
Precisely which parts of the site PBS Coals and Svonavec own has yet to be determined. It is hidden from nearby roads, and officials from the companies have not been allowed to examine the well-guarded site.
For now the land is a crime scene, marked by a 40-foot crater and tarp-covered piles of earth. The FBI is overseeing the search for human remains and airplane fragments, a painstaking hunt-and-dig process that could continue for more than a month.
"There should be something put there, a marker for all these people," said Yanira Viera of Puerto Rico, whose cousin, New York regional Census Bureau employee Waleska Martinez, died in the crash.
Support also came from retiree Vernon Spangler of Harrisburg, a former Somerset County commissioner, state director of local government services for seven years under Gov. Dick Thornburgh and the farmer who used to own the ground.
Finding that the jetliner crashed on his former homestead was "traumatic," he said as he visited the site yesterday."But a memorial -- definitely, definitely, there has to be one," he said.
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There you go Jeff, while your petition is a great thing, you might want to focus your energy on other things.
Great question. Who wants to put more property in the hands of the federal government? And if this is in the middle of nowhere, is it worth erecting where few will see it? I fully support the sentiment but I'm still unsure if this is really the best way to memorialize them.
Perhaps a monument at Newark Airport would be better...
But, I hope you know, that this thread is about a National Monument at the Crash Site of Flight 93 in the Pennsylvania countryside where the passengers fought the terrorists and it came down before reaching DC.
Gettysburg and half of the other battlefield monuments are not close to major population centers.
I vote for putting it right there where they made the sacrifice.
Exactly! Why not do both?
Considering we're talking about only a couple acres, and the coal company is DONATING it, you comment is a little on the "strong" side.
I believe we need to make sure this happens ... that it is made a National Monument. Congress can always use the encouragement to do the right thing ... even when it is obvious.
Thanks for that article though, I will get it posted on my site.
In fact, my guess is there will be a third right in front of that wing of the Pentagon.
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