The Flight 93 National Memorial Commemorates Bravery and a Momentous Time in U.S. History

BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER & AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG AND BOOK

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2026

I’m taking a break from spotlighting nature destinations to write about my family’s visit last month to the Flight 93 National Memorial in southeastern Pennsylvania. Actually, this post barely mentions my family, but rather focuses on the events of the day and the brave passengers and crew of Flight 93. The story of Flight 93 has been told many times since that terrible late-summer day in America in 2001, yet I still felt strong waves of emotion when I visited the site and thought of the actions of the passengers and crew on that day. I pictured myself in the same situation and thought about their terrible last moments and the powerful, brave act of taking your fate into your own hands regardless of the outcome.

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At 9:28 a.m. EST on September 11, 2001, four terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 in the sky above the border of northeast Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania. The flight had 33 passengers (excluding the hijackers) and seven crew members and was headed to San Francisco. The South and North Towers of the World Trade Center had already been struck by hijacked planes and Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. The hijackers turned Flight 93 back toward Washington, DC, with a presumptive target of the U.S. Capitol.

In the next 29 or so minutes, 13 passengers placed 37 calls. They sent final messages and love to their family and friends and learned about the ongoing attacks on the World Trade Center. Then the passengers and crew took a vote—an amazing moment of American democracy on the micro-level. They decided to try to retake the plane rather than suffer the fate of the passengers and crews of the other flights. At 9:57 a.m., a fierce battle erupted between passengers/crew and the terrorists. One of the aircraft’s data recorders captured “loud thumps, crashes, shouts, and breaking glasses and plates.” The terrorist “pilots,” realizing that the passengers might be able to re-take control of the aircraft, decided to crash the plane. Flight 93 crashed upside down at 563 miles per hour into a field near a reclaimed coal strip mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Everyone on board was killed. The plane would have reached Washington, DC, in about 16 minutes.

The Flight 93 National Memorial preserves the crash site and commemorates the passengers and crew who heroically fought back against the terrorists. The memorial is a beautiful place filled with wildflowers, rolling hills, and forests in the distance.

There are three destinations at the Flight 93 Memorial: the Visitor/Learning Center; Memorial Plaza; and Tower of Voices.

Visitor/Learning Center

The Visitor/Learning Center sits on a bluff that overlooks the crash site and the Memorial Plaza. There are extensive multimedia exhibits that provide a timeline of the events of Flight 93, recordings of calls made by the passengers to their loved ones that revealed that their plane’s hijacking was a part of a larger conspiracy of terror, and a bookstore. The National Park Service suggests that visitors earmark 45 minutes to an hour for a visit to the Visitor/Learning Center. Note: No photography is allowed in the Visitor/Learning Center.

Once you leave the Visitor/Learning Center, you can hike down to the Memorial Plaza or get back in your vehicle to drive to the site. Ranger-led educational programs are available.

Memorial Plaza

The Memorial Plaza borders the impact site (which is marked by a massive boulder) and the debris field. It features a long walkway from the parking lot to the actual memorial area (the resting place of the 40 passengers and crew) that features a Wall of Names of those lost on Flight 93. Some of the individual memorials featured mini shrines of remembrance left by visitors. For example, the memorial for Honor Elizabeth Wainio, a 27-year-old passenger who perished on that day, featured seashells, which she was known to love, at the base. In the distance, we saw a grove of eastern hemlock trees that were damaged as a result of the Flight 93 crash—including a gap where about 80 damaged trees were removed.

Tower of Voices

The Tower of Voices is a 93-foot tall structure with 40 wind chimes that represent the 40 passengers and crew who died on September 11 in a nearby field. It’s located near the entrance to the national memorial. We found it fitting to visit the Tower of Voices right before we left the memorial. The National Park Service says that the “shape and orientation of the tower help optimize airflow through the open walls. The chime system uses music theory to identify a mathematically calculated range of frequencies needed to produce the musical notes.” The chimes were designed to sound at wind speeds as low as 7 to 10 mph. Unfortunately, the day was very still when we visited, so we did not get to hear the chimes live. Click here to listen to the chimes.

Final Thoughts

Visiting the Flight 93 National Memorial was a powerful experience for my wife, myself, and our 12-year-old son. But there’s really not much else to say except the facts. Evil people stole the lives of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day. What remains are the stories of the passengers and crew (click here to read their biographies) and their acts of kindness and hopes and dreams before that fateful morning. And the inspirational story of their bravery and fierce determination to save themselves and reclaim good from evil. The passengers and crew were unable to retake Flight 93, but their actions saved hundreds (thousands?) of other lives in Washington, DC. Their bravery should inspire Americans today to fight for justice and stand up to evil.

Things to Know Before You Visit

The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at 6424 Lincoln Highway, Stoystown, PA 15563. The entrance to the memorial is located on U.S. Route 30/Lincoln Highway. The Flight 93 National Memorial is located about 75 miles from Pittsburgh; about 160 miles from Baltimore or Washington, DC; and about 210 miles from Cleveland.
The Visitor Center is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day—when it is closed.
The grounds of the national memorial are open sunrise to sunset, year around, including all holidays, weather permitting.
Water fountains and a water refill station are available at the Visitor Center Complex, but not at the Memorial Plaza.
Click here for some interesting videos that provide background information about the events of September 11, 2001; the memorial design; and other topics.
Click here for an interesting article (paywall) from The New Yorker about Flight 93, the recovery efforts in the aftermath of the crash, the efforts and disputes regarding how the memorial should be designed and how the history of 9/11 should be told, and much more.

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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES

I’ve been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.

In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 80 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, College Readiness: The Vault Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors, the Vault Career Guide to Consulting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series), Lerner Publishing, and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades, Hands-On Careers, Social Media Today, Woman in STEM Careers, Getting Started, and Cool Careers in Science series).

Here’s a list of the environmental- and clean energy-focused titles that I’ve written or co-written:

Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
Environment (Getting Started series)
Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)
Women in Environmental Sciences (Women in STEM Careers)

Articles about my work have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Practical Homeschooling, and other publications. My photographs of musicians, artists, and the natural world have been published in several books. My poetry has been published in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review. As an amateur artist, I’m pleased to say that four of my paintings were included in the 2025 Beverly Art Walk.