Gov. Josh Shapiro joined family members at the private wreath-laying ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial Thursday on the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Shapiro did not speak at the opening ceremony in the memorial plaza that held a standing-room-only crowd. The ceremony included a ringing of the Bells of Remembrance and the reading of the 40 names of the passengers and crew on the airplane.
Flight 93 National Memorial superintendent Stephen Clark opened the 24th observance.
“The transformation of this special place and our dedication to its preservation in their honor gave us hope that future generations will continue to come here,” Clark said.
On Thursday morning, some of the names were read by family members.
“My son.”
“My sister.”
“A wonderful son, brother, father and superior pilot, my cousin.”
The Rev. Robert Way, retired from the Good Shepherd Lutheran Cooperative, Shanksville, said he sees the field where the plane crashed as a place of healing.
“What was once a common field is now a field of honor … hallowed not by us but by the lives of your loved ones.”
In a closing prayer, Way asked for continued healing for families of the 40 passengers and crew on Flight 93, despite the 24 years that have passed.
“Loss is always loss,” he said.
The ceremony concluded with Flight 93 families walking to the crash site for a private wreath laying.
The gate to the crash site was opened by Somerset Regional Volunteer Fire Department.
Names are being read of the 40 passengers and crew members who were aboard Flight 93 when it crashed, followed by the Bell’s of Remembrance. This video honors Deora Frances Bodley. pic.twitter.com/d4ATHBlYqX
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2025
United Flight 93 crashed in what was a rural Stonycreek field at 10:03 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, after being hijacked by terrorists in a coordinated attack. Those aboard fought back to take control of the aircraft after learning other hijacked planes crashed into targets in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Flight 93 was the only plane hijacked that day that did not reach its intended target, believed to be the U.S. Capitol Building.
Flight 93 National Memorial superintendent Stephen Clark opens the 24th observance: “The transformation of this special place and our dedication to its preservation in their honor gave us hope that future generations will continue to come here.” pic.twitter.com/pdpjOtomwE
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2025
I’m at Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County for the 24th observance of Sept. 11, 2001 for @TribLIVE. It’s a chilly morning but warming up quickly under a cloudless sky. The Moment of Remembrance starts at 9:45. pic.twitter.com/TKckVvOD5d
— Renatta Signorini (@ByRenatta) September 11, 2025
The program was broadcast live on the memorial’s YouTube page.
Park officials said visitation at the site remains strong. Between 2021 and 2024, the Somerset County memorial saw an average annual visitation of 374,540 people, according to National Park Service statistics. That’s about two and a half times as many average annual visitors — 141,830 — between 2007 and 2010, years before the permanent memorial was finished.
