Flight 93

The day was cold and breezy, nothing new for this part of the state and I was on my way for my annual visit to the crash site of Flight 93.  It is at this time that I have to profess my dislike of what the National Park Service is doing to this site.  We have been going here for years.  When we started, the memorial was nothing but a bare hilltop with a spontaneous collection of pictures, plaques, firemen and policemen patches, t-shirts and flags.  We could stand on this hill top and look down at the rock with the flag which indicated the crash site.  There would be a ranger there from the National Park Service who would tell the story of the day and it was the most simple but awe inspiring place I have ever visited in my life.  Now the government is building a beautiful park, I am not denying that, but the solemnity and the inspiration is gone.  People who never visited the site before the park construction began still feel some of the old feeling but I feel none of it.  It is now a park just like many other parks that I have visited in my life and I had to focus very intensely to feel the pain that we all felt on that day ten years ago.  Before I started writing this blog, I began to search through my thousands and thousands of photos for "before" pictures to post here but I got too distracted by all of the other memories that I was seeing and had to put them away.  Maybe for another time!

This is the entrance to the crash site area today.  About the only thing that I can say is more impressive than the old viewing area is that this part of the park is actually the area that Flight 93 crashed into.  Previously, we had to stand on the hill which was probably at least a half mile away from the site.

 

There is a long walkway from the entrance to the actual memorial.

 A white wall with a panel dedicated to each person who died that day rings the memorial.

 At the end of the paneled wall is this gate which looks out onto the crash site.  I didn't upload the photo which shows the private entrance for the families of the victims to make a walk out to the actual site.  I kept waiting for this lady to leave but she must have taken a hundred pictures from this spot so I gave up and took one of her also.

 The park service still conducts tours telling the story of that terrible day in our history.

 This is the rock that marks the crash site.

 

The long walkway from the entrance has a group of benches where one can sit and see the rock and contemplate what that day means to us.

 

 

 Thank you!

Of course, there are several letterboxes dedicated to this day in our history within a few miles of this location.  Over the years, I have collected all but the one that is placed ON the park grounds.  I attempted this one today but due to the construction, I think that the landmarks may have changed so I was unsuccessful in finding it and the placer stated that she will be visiting in the near future to check on it.