Thanks. I had just got out of the Army at the end of 2000. My brother was still in the USAF. I was at a new job down here in LA. My family is still in Western PA, so between the Pentagon and hearing about Shanksville I was crushed. I went to Gettysburg College and always felt the weight of sorrow in the air when I walked the battlefield. I felt the exact same thing when I got to visit the Shanksville crash site in the summer of 2003.
Well, thank you for your service as well! My son is now working in Pittsburgh and I understand that Shanksville is only about 80 miles away. We hope to stop and pay our respects there some day soon. I am sure it will be as surreal an experience as it was for us to see our good friend’s name on the wall at the 911 Memorial. We have close friends whose 2 daughters graduated from Gettysburg. We have heard great things about that place.