STONYCREEK, Pa. _ The aesthetics needed no ceremony.
The new path led from a open meadow _ a reclaimed strip mine _ in Somerset County domed by a soft blue sky, weaving through groves of freshly planted maple and white oak saplings and spanning over a wetland on a plank bridge. Though pushing 80 degrees by noon, the early signs of autumn were there in the crisp air and a gentle breeze that rustled the tree line, which was beginning to show tinges of reds and yellows.
What deserved formal recognition on Saturday during a ribbon-cutting at the Flight 93 National Memorial was where the 21-mile stretch of trail went and what it meant to those venturing down its path. Marking 15 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shook the country, it will provide a link for bicyclists, hikers and other travelers to all three sites.
The dedication, attended by elected officials, relatives of Flight 93 passengers, park rangers and visitors who happened to be passing through the memorial plaza, celebrated an achievement years in the making for September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance. The group worked with numerous groups to figure out how to draw up a 1,300-mile trail connecting the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City and Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va.
"When people ride it, and when people enjoy it, they'll be remembering the history of what this is all about," said David G. Brickley, president and CEO of the trail alliance.
When the trail was first proposed, "I had no clue how we would possibly be able to get this trail from Flight 93 east," said Diane Kripas, division chief for the Recreation and Conservation Partnerships for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, a partner on the project. Instead of a straighter route running parallel to the turnpike, she said, they suggested one that connects to other National Park Service sites, including Gettysburg, Valley Forge, Independence Hall and Delaware Water Gap.
"So we have this awesome plan that Pennsylvania can continue to build on probably for decades to come," she said.
"It's about those heroes of 9/11, and those heroes centuries back to the founding of our country, who overcame all kinds of hurdles," Brickley said. "Be it Johnstown, be it Valley Forge, be it Bethlehem, which had the largest steel mill in the world and went through real hard times and said, 'we're going to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps.' We said that certainly with 9/11. That we weren't going to let them get us down."
The weather on Saturday was not so different from this time 15 years ago, when United Flight 93 crashed upside down at 563 mph and disintegrated into the field. After four hijackers took control of the plane and aimed it toward Washington, D.C., the 33 passengers and seven crew members on board attempted to take back control of the plane. Their actions led to its crash in remote Somerset County, instead of its likely intended target, the U.S. Capitol.
"They did the most democratic of things in choosing to revolt," said Patrick White, president of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, whose cousin Joey was a passenger that day.
White said the trail memorializes the tragedy by encouraging those using it to feel solidarity with different places and people.
"The word that to me crystallizes best what this link in this chain of trails represents is 'connection,'" he said. "It's not just the physical connection between different geographic locations. It's connections between people ... and time as well."
