By 
The stories of crew and passengers of Flight 93 resonate
with memorial visitors 20 years later
Read the story, “On a damp day, painful memories at the Flight 93 Memorial” with this link: https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/on-a-damp-day-painful-memories-at-the-flight-93-memorial/
Here is the lead to the story and photos by Post-Gazette staffer Steve Mellon that you’ll see at the link for the rest of the story.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred rolled northeast that Wednesday in August, ruining the prospects for water skiing, so Kirk Garber left his family’s vacation rental in Deep Creek, Md., and drove 60 miles north to the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County, Pa.
He couldn’t persuade any family members to join him. He traveled alone.
Shortly before 2 p.m., he parked near the memorial’s visitor center and walked along a black granite path leading to an overlook. Within moments, dark clouds overhead let loose their rain. The dozen or so people lingering over the view fled to nearby shelter.
Only Mr. Garber remained — his slender 88-year-old frame buffeted by a stiff breeze. In the distance, he could see the tree line where 40 passengers and crew members died in an effort to regain control of an airliner hijacked by terrorists. Those terrorists intended to crash the plane into the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House, the 9/11 commission would eventually conclude.
“I had to see it,” Mr. Garber said.
According to the National Park Service, Mr. Garber joined 687 others who visited the memorial on Aug. 18, 2021. Nothing special marked this day, other than the dark clouds and rain that kept attendance below normal. Two days later, the number of visitors would balloon to 2,500. The gloom stood in stark contrast to the stunningly beautiful weather on the day of the attacks. It did not, however, impede the flow of difficult memories.
Some of the day’s visitors gently ran their fingers across the names carved into white marble panels and recalled the shock and despair they felt 20 years ago, when horrific events that previously seemed inconceivable played out on live television.
Mellon’s powerful photos are below, then go to the link for the balance of the story.
Braden Sorley, 8, visits the Flight 93 Memorial Plaza in Somerset County with his family, mom Tara, sister Ava and dad Chris on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2021. The plaza walkway extends along the area where Flight 93 crashed on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Words etched into the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County recognize that Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas was three months pregnant when Flight 93 crashed. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Dan Boray of Chicago snaps a picture of the Flight 93 Memorial’s Tower of Voices in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Boray trained the United flight attendants who died on the flight. “How do you explain this?” he asked. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Dan Boray, who for two decades trained flight attendants in emergency evacuation procedures, keeps a picture of the airline crew members who died on 9/11. He displayed the image while visiting the Flight 93 Memorial’s Tower of Voices in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Young trees rise near the walkway at the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
A couple visits the Flight 93 Memorial’s Tower of Voices in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
At the Flight 93 Memorial Plaza in Somerset County, visitors often leave mementos like this pin, found there on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Personal messages of peace and remembrance are pinned to the wall of the Flight 93 Memorial Plaza visitors shelter in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Visiting the Flight 93 Memorial’s Tower of Voices in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021 are, from left, Admassu Tsegaye, 14; Aregash Admasu, 60; Martha Gittings, 79; Margaret E. Dailey, 68; Bezunesh Admassu, 49.. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Clouds hover above the Allée, the walkway that circles the impact site at the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)Please read the story by one of the nation’s best story tellers with words and images, “On a damp day, painful memories at the Flight 93 Memorial” with this link: https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/on-a-damp-day-painful-memories-at-the-flight-93-memorial/