Flight 93 Memorial Sees Rise in Donations

The contractor managing construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial is on schedule, with crews excavating for the Field of Honor and the Sacred Ground Plaza.

The heavy machinery and visible progress seem to have inspired fundraisers, according to Deputy Superintendent Keith Newlin of the National Park Service. He says the NPS has noticed an increased interest since major onsite construction began.

The current excavations are part of Phase 1A, which is scheduled to be complete by next year’s 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. By that point, a ring road, the Sacred Ground Plaza and a contact station will be finished.

Newlin says it’s crucial to the NPS and to the families of the 40 Flight 93 victims that Phase 1A construction is complete by next year’s anniversary.

Navy Vessel to Use Steel from area of Flight 93 Crash Site

The bow stem of the USS Somerset will be constructed using 22 tons of steel from a crane that sat near the Flight 93 crash site on September 11, 2001. Both New York and Arlington have navy ships named after them that incorporate material from their crash sites. Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk says the steel comes from a crane that was sitting near a reclaimed strip mine near Shanksville at the time of the crash. Vatavuk will head down to Avondale, Louisina later this week for the ceremony that kicks off construction of the ship. He says it should be finished by 2011 or 2012. Vatavuk says the ship will be a living memorial to the victims of Flight 93 as it makes it way around the world. He hopes the vessel's christening will take place in Philadelphia or Baltimore so southwestern Pennsylvanian's can travel to see it.