Years ago, I was watching a family home movie of a relative whom I had never met. It was only 20 seconds long, and it featured a bunch of children opening Christmas presents. The film was grainy and in black and white. I struggled watching it because the one girl would be murdered 30 years after this joyous day.
Charlene and I were out touring the areas of Pennsylvania and New York when we stopped to listen to the final messages of those who knew they were about to die. I struggled watching a film from the 1950s because there was no way this small girl had any idea that her husband would murder her and leave her body in the garage for her kids to find. There was no possible way I could listen to the answering machine messages of those who knew they were about to die because they were on Flight 93.
I remember September 11, 2001. It is one of those unforgettable days that is forever etched in our collective memory. So much changed on that day that the world has never been the same. For me, I was trying to drive home. I had a horrible migraine and wanted to go to bed. I still had twenty minutes of driving before I could get some peace when I heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre. I turned off the radio and drove in silence. I dismissed it as some minor collision with a small plane, like a two-seater Cessna. I got home, restless and thinking about the plane crash, when I turned on the TV. When I turned on the news, I felt a sense of horror that I had never felt before. Even though this was an attack on America, it was also an act of war that Canada would respond to and aid our southern ally.
We had visited the World Trade Center on a Christmas visit to New York City in 2022, and on June 7, 2024, we were at the site where Flight 93 crashed in a remote field. The site holds a memorial and a museum about that fateful event, and one of the exhibits is the recorded phone messages that some of those on Flight 93 left for their loved ones. They full well knew that they were going to die and were saying their goodbyes. I put on the headphones to begin listening to these messages, and I only got one sentence in. I struggled with seeing an old film where a girl was being a kid on Christmas Day; I could not listen to the heartfelt sorrow of those who only had minutes to live. I threw aside the headphones and tried to compose myself as I fought back the tears. I could not imagine having to leave a message like that, nor would I ever want to hear a message from a loved one knowing there was nothing that could be done. It was just too much for me.
Charlene is much stronger in this than I am. She respectfully listened to the recorded messages of the passengers of Flight 93. She honoured their memories by listening to all the messages. After, she told me what they had said. I could not speak.
It has been a quarter century since this awful event happened, but I still think of it and how things are so much different. The recorded messages had hit me hard. What would I do if I were on the plane? Would I have the composure to call Charlene and leave one final “I love you”? I do not know and do not want to find out.
Outside, there is a lengthy walk to the crash site. Not much can be viewed. The debris is cleaned up and the ground healed. All there is a large boulder showing the impact site. We looked at it. Stood in silence, thinking of all the lives lost at that location. It was a moving experience knowing the events and visiting the scene. Even now, 25 years after the attack and years after our visit to the Flight 93 Memorial, it still reminds me of a painful memory. I can only hope that those who were directly affected find comfort in the knowledge that so many people around the world hold these lost lives with pain and sorrow, and offer support for the survivors.
Across the road from the memorial are two other places that honour those around the events of September 11th. Post-9/11 U.S. Armed Forces Memorial at Patriot Park has a flag of each hero who died in the fight against terrorism. It is very moving to see just how many flags there are. And there is the Remember Me Rose Garden, which offers quiet reflection on the events of 9/11.
The entire nation of the United States, as well as the world, was deeply impacted by the terrorist act of 9/11. There are numerous memorials found throughout the USA. Some are large, featuring museums and artifacts; others are a simple memorial plaque honouring those lost. A truly senseless tragedy.
