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Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania officials, National Park Service leaders and family members and friends of the victims gathered Friday at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., to honor the 40 passengers and crew members who lost their lives and reflect on the legacy of their sacrifice.
"These individuals made a collective decision that would change history forever," said Stephen Clark, superintendent at the National Park Service. "Out of many, one ... defines not only what the passengers and crew members did that morning, but what we and future generations can learn from them."
On the day of the attack, United Airlines Flight 93 was a passenger flight departing from Newark International Airport set to land at the San Francisco International Airport in California. But instead, four al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked the flight, attempting to deliberately crash the plan into the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
After learning that other hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, passengers and crew aboard Flight 93 fought back against the hijackers. Their efforts prevented the plane from reaching its intended target before it crashed into a field in Shanksville. The 40 passengers and crew members were among the 2,977 people killed in the attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in Shanksville.
The annual ceremony at the memorial brought together those who knew the victims personally with officials and visitors from across the country. The event featured speeches from government officials and family members, musical tributes, recognitions and a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 40 passengers and crew members.
The commemoration also highlighted the enduring lessons of Flight 93, particularly the courage, unity and civic responsibility demonstrated by the passengers and crew. Speakers emphasized the importance of carrying those lessons forward as a growing number of Americans have no firsthand memory of Sept. 11.
"Today and every day, I believe it is our duty to remember the heroism and bravery of the 40 American heroes aboard Flight 93," Gov. Josh Shapiro said during the event. "They were lawyers and students and business owners, engineers and journalists, retired nurses, pilots and flight attendants -- ordinary Americans who did an extraordinary thing."
The commemoration also recognized America's 250th anniversary, drawing a connection between the ideals that shaped the country's founding and the unity displayed by the passengers and crew of Flight 93. The anniversary took on particular significance as speakers reflected on how ordinary Americans came together in the face of tragedy.
"A grief like ours does not fade. There's no moving on from such a loss. There's only moving forward, carrying the memory of our loved ones ... for as long as we are able," said Gordon Felt, brother of Flight 93 passenger Edward Felt. "They did what the founders would have recognized: out of many, they became one. E pluribus unum. Their unity was not in spite of their differences; it was made stronger by them. They assessed, they planned, they prayed, and in the truest expression of the self‑governed, they voted on a course of action. To remember is not enough. Remembering is something we feel. Honoring is something that we do."
Even 25 years after the attacks, speakers stressed the importance of preserving the memory of those who were killed and teaching younger generations about the events of Sept. 11.
"More and more visitors who come to this memorial have no personal memory of September 11th," said Jessica Bowron, acting director of the National Park Service. "But here, that history is made tangible."