Calling the 40 people who died on Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, “intrepid heroes,” President Donald Trump marked the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the national memorial to that flight in Somerset County.
“On that September morning when America was under attack, the battle turned to the skies above this field,” said Trump. “Their momentous deeds will outlive us all.”
Despite the visit by the president, and an afternoon stop by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville was much shorter and quieter than usual.
The service was closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was shortened from 90 minutes and did not include the usual lineup of speakers and live music.
The ceremony was attended by Trump, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and others. Biden stopped at the memorial and chatted with a few family members of those aboard Flight 93.
President Trump and others have taken the stage. He got cheers last time he was here when the public was permitted, but it was completely silent today except for the neigh of a police horse in the distance. pic.twitter.com/wvQiluTz02
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2020
Presidential nominee Joe Biden has arrived at Flight 93 and placed a wreath at the name of First Officer Leroy Homer, one of 40 people killed when the airplane crashed in Somerset County on Sept. 11, 2001. pic.twitter.com/BiYKMJZ9q8
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2020
“It’s hard to underestimate the willingness of decent people to literally … lay down their lives,” Biden said. “When you think about what happened, it’s one thing to react when you’re in a situation where you’re confronted with something and you have to act immediately. It’s another thing to consciously know that what you’re about to do is likely to cost you your life.”
Though the memorial service was closed to the public, that didn’t stop both Trump and Biden supporters from setting up camp along Route 30 leading to the memorial.
One of many Trump supporters lined up outside the Flight 93 National Memorial to greet president Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/kW7YnA6yPR
— Debra Erdley (@deberdley_trib) September 11, 2020
The service in the Flight 93 Memorial Plaza stared at 9:45 a.m. and included the reading of the names of the 40 passengers and crew members leading up to 10:03 a.m., when the plane crashed.
Names of those aboard the aircraft are being read by the park’s retired chief of interpretation. Families of the 40 passengers and crew in years past have read the names. pic.twitter.com/AZrzD03fhS
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2020
Some family members of those lost on Flight 93 also attended.
Ed Root, cousin of flight attendant Lorraine Bay, spoke to the attendees.
“It has been 19 years, but sometimes it seems like yesterday. The wounds never truly close completely.”
The crew and passengers on the plane had knowledge and time “not a lot, but enough,” Root said. “They were unable to save themselves, but they knew, unless they acted, many more would die.”
Although many of those gathered outside the memorial were there to support Trump or Biden, some came solely to remember those lost on 9/11.
Darrell Isaac, commander of VFW post 9936 in Dayton, Ohio, brought members of the post and their colors to the National Memorial to honor the heroes of Flight 93.
“Come back here, and it’s like you get a booster shot for humanity,” he said.
Terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 and the 40 passengers and crew members aboard died as they wrested control of the plane away, crashing into a field in Stonycreek Township.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers flew commercial airplanes into New York City’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the field just outside of Shanksville. The passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93 are credited with trying to breach the cockpit after four hijackers tried to fly the plane to a suspected target in the nation’s capital.
