Flight 93 Memorial: A Tribute to Heroism

The Flight 93 National Memorial, located outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, draws more than 300,000 visitors annually. They come to honor the 40 individuals who perished there on September 11, 2001. Despite its remote location, the site holds great significance for many.

Gordon Felt, who lost his brother Edward Felt on United Airlines Flight 93, shared with CBS News the importance of this remembrance, saying, “It’s gratifying for us to know that people take the time to get off the turnpike and come up and spend a few hours here to learn about the story.” Gordon attended the National Park Service ceremony held to honor Flight 93’s victims. For him, recounting the final moments of those innocent passengers and crew is crucial.

On the day of the crash, it was unclear why the plane had gone down in Shanksville. As a CBS News reporter at the crash site, I tried to understand the situation. Using flight data, I mapped the route from Cleveland, Ohio to Shanksville, then extended a hypothetical path to Washington, D.C. That exercise helped me sense that something tragic yet heroic had happened.

In the years since, we have learned from calls to the ground that Edward Felt and other passengers courageously stormed the cockpit. Their action prevented the hijackers from reaching their likely target, the Capitol building. Gordon Felt remarked, “The good guys won that day. The bad guys were defeated.”

Paul Pisano worked at the Capitol on that fateful day. Reflecting on the passengers’ bravery, he expressed gratitude at the memorial’s Wall of Names, saying, “I can’t ever thank them enough.” On September 11, many awaited America’s response, only to realize that a heroic act had already taken place in the skies over Pennsylvania.