A memorial service was held at the Wall of Names, a series of 40 polished marble slabs inscribed with the details of the victims, that leads along the plane's final flight path towards the crash site in a nearby wild flower meadow.
Nick Allen
In a field outside the tiny town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, families of the 40 passengers and crew who died on United Flight 93 stood together on hallowed ground to remember their loved ones as American heroes.
In a sombre ceremony they took turns to read aloud the names of their relations, each one followed by the tolling of bells. The victims were remembered in alphabetical order, from Christian Adams, a German wine merchant, to flight purser Deborah Jacobs Welsh, to Toshiya Kuge of Osaka, Japan, whose mother uttered his name.
The memorial service was held at the Wall of Names, a series of 40 polished marble slabs inscribed with the details of the victims, that leads along the plane's final flight path towards the crash site in a nearby wild flower meadow.
Gordon Felt, the brother of passenger Edward Porter Felt, 41, a computer engineer, told other relatives: "We lost too much 10 years ago. The anguish of September 11 continues to overwhelm. Let us never forget the horror of 9/11, but let us cherish the memory of those we lost.
"We cannot escape the painful reality of history but we can choose to be inspired by that reality. This site will forever stand as a tribute to 40 individuals who chose, under most horrific conditions, to stand and fight."
Flight 93 crashed after those on board, some alerted by phone calls from family about the New York attacks, decided to try to wrest control of their plane from four hijackers.
Their heroism prevented it crashing into the US Capitol in Washington D.C. Hundreds of relatives gathered for the service, along with the emergency workers who had rushed to the scene 10 years ago. They were joined by several thousand others.
At 10.03am, the time the Boeing 757 crashed into the ground at nearly 600mph, they paused in silence to reflect. Governor Tom Corbett said the spot where they stood had been compared with other great sites like the Alamo and Gettysburg, and the passengers on Flight 93 had "charted a new course, set a new standard for American bravery".
He said: "Their uprising marked the moment in history when Americans showed what makes us different. We know there are things more important than our own lives - chief among them, freedom." Later in the day, President Barack Obama arrived to lay a wreath of white blooms, and to meet relations of the dead.
The Daily Telegraph
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