Live from Shanksville: Biden, Harris, Trump pay their respects

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump visited the Flight 93 National Memorial Wednesday as part of the observance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Trump was the last to arrive at the site in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, that marks where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked.

Trump placed a wreath by the wall with names of passengers and crew for Flight 93. He waved to the crowd, pumped his fist and gave a thumbs up before moving toward the crash site.

Before arriving in Pennsylvania, they were at Ground Zero in New York City to mark 23 years since the attacks.

Former President Donald Trump arrived at the Flight 93 memorial to a round of applause and cheers. It’s generally been very a very quiet crowd today for the solemn anniversary. @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/XaXyuza6eN

— Julia Burdelski (@JuliaBurdelski) September 11, 2024

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arriving to lay a wreath at the Flight 93 Memorial outside of Shanksville, PA. pic.twitter.com/tbANVxOisn

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) September 11, 2024

Kamala Harris arriving in Johnstown for the Flight 93 memorial. President Biden’s plane arrived just after she left in a motorcade. pic.twitter.com/bQrEGg1W0d

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) September 11, 2024

Rev. Daniel Lawrence, a Pennsylvania State Police chaplain, is closing this morning’s memorial ceremony.
He recalled contemplating the actions of those aboard Flight 93.
“They no doubt knew they would not be going home,” he said. “It was their final flight.” pic.twitter.com/XnoIuedh5R

— Julia Burdelski (@JuliaBurdelski) September 11, 2024

Before Trump’s visit, Biden and Harris were joined by Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro for a similar wreath-laying ceremony.

Afterward, Shapiro spoke briefly with reporters and said Biden spoke with families who lost loved ones on the flight and told them their relatives didn’t die in vain.

It’s important to commemorate 9/11 so Pennsylvania youth don’t forget what happened 23 years ago, Shapiro said.

He shared his memories from 2001.

He was congressional staffer, working on a building next to the Capitol as the attacks unfolded and his wife Lori was nine months pregnant, Shapiro said.

He saw video of the first tower on fire and turned on the Today Show.

“As I’m watching, I saw the second plane go in,” he said, adding he initially thought it was a replay of the first plane before eventually realizing the nation was under attack.

Conflicting messages coming through a loudspeaker urged them to stay in the building and to leave.

Thankfully, he said, everyone at the Capitol complex was safe — because what he called the extraordinary bravery of the people on Flight 93 who thwarted efforts to crash that plane into the Capitol.

“It’s my responsibility as governor to remember by honoring the folks who are here and their loved ones who are with us.”

Shapiro also planned to visit first responders in Johnstown on Wednesday.

‘We come here to remember’

Jordan Lyles also visited the memorial on Wednesday.

Lyles was in school at Fort Pierce, Fla., on 9/11 watching the events unfold on television.

His mother, CeeCee Lyles of Fort Myers, Fla., was a United Airlines flight attendant based at Newark, N.J., but 9-year-old Jordan did not know her schedule that day.

She had left a job in law enforcement about a year before Sept.11, 2001, opting for a job with the airlines.

“I remember thinking, ‘I hope she’s not on it,” Jordan Lyles said.

He did not know of his mother’s fate until being contacted by his father, he said.

“I like to have someone from our family represented here,” said Lyles, 32, who lives in Las Vegas.

Coming to the Flight 93 Memorial holds a special significance for him. He first visited in the spring of 2002, when the trees were still scarred from the fire of the plane crash.

“It brings you back to reality, It’s hard to believe it was 23 years ago,” he said. “Every time I come here, it is refreshing, to see so much love and care the community has put into this place, you feel it.

Flight 93 National Memorial Superintendent Stephen Clark began Wednesday’s ceremony by welcoming youth joining virtually from over 300 schools in 29 states.

He thanked military personnel, organizations who support the memorial’s efforts and educators who are helping preserve the history. He also recognized family members of those who died on Flight 93 who are here in person or watching online.

The event, Clark said, honors all those who lost their lives during the terror attack.

“We come here to remember them and to commemorate the actions of 40 of those people whose collective actions that morning saved countless lives,” he said.

He credited the crew and passengers for their unity and bravery in thwarting efforts to crash the plane in the U.S. Capitol.

In memory of the passengers and crew members killed in the Flight 93 crash, volunteer ambassador and longtime Southwest Airlines flight attendant Matthew LeBlanc joined families to read the names of each person who died on the plane.

After each name was read, Friends of Flight 93 President Fred Lukachinsky and Executive Director Donna Gibson rang bells in their honor.

“It is truly our honor and privilege to tell the story of your loved ones today, tomorrow and for generations to come,” Clark told families gathered at the site and watching virtually.

The Rev. Daniel Lawrence, a Pennsylvania State Police chaplain, was closing speaker for this morning’s memorial ceremony.

He recalled contemplating the actions of those aboard Flight 93 in the aftermath of the wreck.

“They no doubt knew they would not be going home,” he said. “It was their final flight.”

If he was in that position, he said, he’d want to take a moment to pray — and he’d want his family to know how much he loved them.

It’s a poignant reminder, he said, that life is short.

He urged people to act as though any day might be their last.

“Don’t let a day go by without saying I love you to your family,” he said. “A hug and a kiss can go a long way.”

He commended passengers and crews for putting others first, saving others from tragedy.

He prayed for healing for the people who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

‘It feels like part of us is here’

Patrick White, 72, of Hamburg, N.Y., was among those who attended the events Wednesday at the memorial.

“In some ways , it feels like coming home. In some ways, it feels like part of us is here,” White said.

White said his cousin, Louis J. Nacke II, 42, was among those who were killed that day.

Nacke’s voice was heard on the flight recorder as passengers and crew attacked the terrorists. Nacke’s remains were found in the cone of the cockpit of Flight 93, White said.

Mark Lamonaca, 68, of Windber, also attended the ceremony.

Lamonaca was delivering bread for his family’s bakery on Sept. 11, 2001.

He stopped at one store and found people huddled around a black-and-white television, watching news of a plane crash in New York.

Lamonaca presumed it was a small, accidental wreck.

By the time he made it to his next delivery, news had broken that a second plane had crashed into the Twin Towers.

“I felt something was happening,” he said.

Lamonaca rushed back to his Windber bakery, listening as fire sirens began to wail and watching state police cars speed by.

Stores nearby started to close as word spread that a plane had crashed nearby.

“I never thought this was going to happen, like everybody else,” he said.

Trump also expected to make stop

A group waits to see if they will be allowed into a 9/11 memorial event at Shanksville VFD where Donald Trump is expected to make a visit. pic.twitter.com/yHTqvdmTSO

— Patrick Varine - Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) September 11, 2024

People awaited Trump’s arrival at the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department.

Among them was Gene Stilp, who designed the Flight 93 memorial American flag.

Stilp also unfurled the flag Tuesday in Harrisburg in the Capitol building.

“As time goes by, a new generation needs reminded about what happened,” Stilp said. “It was great to be part of the ceremony yesterday.”

Stilp designed the flag in late 2001, and it has since been modified to add the names of crew members and passengers aboard Flight 93.

Those aboard Flight 93 fought back against their hijackers after discovering other planes had crashed in New York City and at the Pentagon that morning in 2001.

Nina Clausi, 45, of Indiana Township has visited the memorial five times — but this marked her first time attending the anniversary ceremonies.

“All of America today should be paying tribute to all the people who died — not just the people on the planes but firefighters and police,” she said. “They died trying to help the American people.”

Clausi said she’s trying to instill in her 19-year-old daughter a sense of reverence for the people who died in the attack.

They watch videos together and talk about what happened.

Addison Love, 17, was attending the memorial on a field trip with Northern Bedford County High School.

She and other students researched the victims who were on board Flight 93. Now, she said, she’s interested to see some of their families come to pay tribute and learn more.

“Our generation is still going to keep the memories alive and keep telling the story,” she said.

Biden last visited the national memorial in 2021, on the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

He and Harris are also expected to visit the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday.

Observances will begin shortly to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks here at the Flight 93 memorial.@TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/Bd7ckZosR2

— Julia Burdelski (@JuliaBurdelski) September 11, 2024