America Remembers

Twin Towers of light will rise over Manhattan as America marks 14th anniversary of 9/11

A name-reading ceremony will be held at Memorial Plaza in Manhattan Thursday morning, punctuated by six moments of silence. This year, the Memorial Plaza will be open to the public on September 11 from 6am until midnight. Tribute in Light will illuminate the skies over the Financial District from sunset to early Friday morning. A ceremony of remembrance will take place at Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Relatives of those who perished in Pentagon will take part in private memorial attended by President Obama.

Two blue columns of light representing the devastated World Trade Center illuminated the skies over Lower Manhattan Wednesday night – a vivid tribute to the nearly 3,000 slain innocents - as the United Stated prepared to mark the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Like every year, relatives of victims will come together at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza for a somber name-reading ceremony honoring every one of the people who perished in the attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and inside the plane that crashed in rural Pennsylvania.

During the ceremony, six moments of silence will be observed marking the strikes on the towers, and the Pentagon, the collapse of the skyscrapers and the time Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Flight crew and passengers of Flight 93

In Memory of Nicole Carol Miller

Nicole Carol Miller was 21 years old and from and from San Jose, California. Nicole was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93.

Nicole, who was a student at West Valley College in Saratoga, California, made an impulsive decision to fly to the East Coast to vacation with a friend. The couple toured Manhattan landmarks and New Jersey boardwalks and beaches before boarding separate flights to return home. A thunderstorm on the evening of September 10 forced Nicole to re-schedule her flight to the next morning.

United Airlines Flight 93 was crashed into a field, during an attempt by some of the passengers to regain control, killing all 44 people aboard.

Nicole's sister said, "She was brave, heroic, strong-willed and would have fought back with all her might. She was beautiful like a cover girl inside and out."

In Memory of Mark Bingham

Mark Bingham was 31 years old and from New York, NY. (Born: Phoenix, Arizona). Mark was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93.

Mark Bingham was last to board United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. He arrived late and nearly missed the flight. Mark sat in seat 4D, in the rear of first class, just behind the cockpit. At 9:28am the plane was hijacked by terrorists.

Mark made a brief airphone call to his mother, Alice, saying 'I love you'. Later Alice left a voicemail message on Mark's cell phone, instructing her son to attempt to reclaim the aircraft after it became apparent that Flight 93 was to be used in a suicide attack.

It is widely believed that Mark was part of a group of passengers who attempted to stop the hijackers from reaching their intended destination. During the attempt, however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"It gives me a great deal of comfort to know my son may have been able to avert the killing of many, many innocent people." Alice.


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It's an event that shook the world. Honest, unflinching and profoundly moving, United 93 tells the unforgettable story of the heroic passengers and crew members who prevented the terrorists from carrying out their plans for the fourth hijacked plane on September 11, 2001. As on-ground military and civilian teams scrambled to make sense of the unfolding events, forty people who sat down as strangers found the courage to stand up as one.

In Memory of Todd Morgan Beamer

Todd Morgan Beamer was 32 years old and from Cranbury, New Jersey. (Born: Flint, Michigan). Todd was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93.

On September 11, 2001, Todd left his home for a one-day business trip to San Francisco.

After United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked, Todd and other passengers communicated with people on the ground via airphones and cell phones, and learned that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been attacked using hijacked airplanes.

Todd tried to place a credit card call through a phone located on the back of a plane seat but was routed to a customer-service representative instead, who passed him on to GTE supervisor Lisa Jefferson. Todd reported that one passenger was killed and, later, that a flight attendant had told him the pilot and co-pilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. He was also on the phone when the plane made its turn in a southeasterly direction, a move that had him briefly panicking. Later, he told the operator that some of the plane's passengers were planning to "jump on" the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers' plan could be followed through.

Todd then recited The Lord's Prayer. Todd's last audible words were "Are you guys ready? Okay, let's roll."

Todd's daughter, Morgan Kay, was born on January 9, 2002, approximately four months after his death.

Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage
This is the best seller that has brought comfort and hope to millions since 9/11. Let's Roll! is the moving, behind-the-scenes story of United Flight 93 hero Todd Beamer and his widow, Lisa Beamer.

In Memory of Colleen L. Fraser

Colleen L. Fraser was 51 years old and from Elizabeth, New Jersey. Colleen was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93.

Colleen was born with an inherited bone disorder that kept her height at 4 feet, 6 inches, and made it a little harder for her to get around. However, she was a nationally-known advocate for the disabled and helped draft the "Americans with Disabilities Act."

On September 11, 2001, Colleen was flying to a grant-writing seminar in Reno, Nevada, hoping to become more effective as Executive Director of the Progressive Center for Independent Living.

In Memory of Jean Hoadley Peterson

Jean Hoadley Peterson was 55 years old and from Spring Lake, N.J. (Born: Evanston, Illinois). Jean was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93.

On September 11, 2001, Jean and her husband Donald Arthur Peterson, were on their way to a family reunion in Yosemite National Park. They were scheduled to take a later flight but at the airport they changed to Flight 93 because it was less crowded. They sat in seats 14A and 14C.

Jean and Donald were church and community volunteers, and had lived a life of quiet service to alcoholics and addicts, women with crisis pregnancies and residents of impoverished nations.

In terms of coping over the last 10 years, Jean's three daughters issued a joint statement, "We have continued to live our lives in a manner that we believe would make Mom and Don proud. We get together frequently and are a great source of support for each other."

In Memory of CeeCee Lyles

CeeCee Lyles was 34 years old and from Fort Myers, FL. CeeCee worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines Flight 93.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked by four terrorists. Subsequent analysis of the flight recorders recovered from the crash site revealed how the actions taken by the passengers prevented the aircraft from reaching the hijackers' intended target.

Before Flight 93 nose-dived into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, CeeCee dialed home twice on a cell phone to tell her husband about the hijacking and of her love for him and their children. Calmly, she prayed to see her husband's face again, then beseeched God to forgive and welcome her home, along with everyone else on the plane.

Pennsylvania commemorates 9/11 victims

Flight 93 National Memorial dedication on September 10th, 2011, the day before the 10th anniversary of the crash of Flight 93

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton gave impassioned speeches; singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan performed her hits, "In The Arms Of The Angel" and "I Will Remember You", in tribute to the 40 heroic passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.

About Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the route was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists as part of the September 11 attacks. It subsequently crashed into a field near Shanksville in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, during an attempt by some of the passengers to regain control.

Flight 93 National Memorial Update

The Flight 93 National Memorial is close to being finished in time for the 10th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, including a long, white marble wall bearing the names of the 40 passengers and crew who perished when the plane crashed.

Visitors will be able to follow a walkway just over 100 yards away from where the plane crashed. The design features dark concrete paths and a long, white marble wall inscribed with the names of the 40 passengers and crew who died.

"It's intended to be a memorial site, and focus on their actions, as opposed to try and re-create an historical event," said Keith Newlin, park service superintendent for Western Pennsylvania. "They were fighting over the skies for 35 minutes before they came to this site. Their resting place is here."

According to family members in cell phone contact with passengers, those aboard tried to overpower the hijackers. But the plane crashed into a field near rural Shanksville, about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Newlin said the Flight 93 Memorial uses a few basic materials. "It's intended to give people a healing experience," he said.

Some remains are still interred at the crash site so access will be restricted there.

During a Thursday tour, geese visited the wetlands and workers placed dark concrete benches alongside recently planted grass. Extensive landscaping work has already been done at the memorial site.

About $50 million in public and private money has been raised for the project, according to the Families of Flight 93 group. The first phase, including a ring road leading to the site, a memorial plaza, and a parking area, is expected to cost about $60 million.

Future plans call for 40 memorial groves of 40 trees each, an interactive visitor center, and a "Tower of the Voices" featuring 40 wind chimes.

Members of the public would be able to visit the 8-acre memorial plaza, to be opened to the public following the tenth anniversary commemoration of the attacks, for free.

Please visit the Flight 93 National Memorial site for more information and details http://www.honorflight93.org