We want to restore
life here, to heal the land, and nourish our souls. In this place, a scrap yard will become a
gateway and a strip mine will grow into a flowering meadow." ~ Flight 93 Memorial Committee
The ground is sacred here – peaceful, simple and timeless. Jordan felt an enormous sense of pride and humility as she surveyed the hillside. Originally wilderness forest, it was later stripped and excavated for coal mining. Today it’s a gravesite.
On this very site nearly a dozen
years ago, 40 heroes rose up together, making the ultimate sacrifice for
freedom, defending our nation’s capital.
Today this hallowed site serves as a valuable touchstone for all Americans
– about courage, about self-sacrifice, about defending liberty.
Contemplation is as vital to Jordan as breathing. She wondered what it would have been like
that morning aboard the Boeing 757 bound for San Francisco. They were people from different worlds: salesmen,
students, executives, and retirees: husbands, wives and parents.
Who knew as Flight 93 lumbered down runway 4L, pulled up and banked to
the west, that passengers on the right side of the plane would see lower
Manhattan’s World Trade Center towering above the skyline for the last time?
Who knew that 40 minutes into the flight, four hijackers wearing red
bandannas and armed with plain box cutters, would force themselves into the
cockpit and seize control of the aircraft from experienced pilots?
Who knew that when the passengers realized the plot, they decided to fight
instead, rising up like their forefather’s, to defy tyranny and fight to take
the plane back from the terrorists?
Who knew that among the rolling farmland near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
and the last place one would expect a drama involving Arab hijackers, that
their world would come to an end when the jumbo jet burrowed into the dew-laden
pasture.
Who knew that these ordinary “citizen soldiers” would become the first
casualties in a strange new war against a cowardice enemy destined to destroy
the American way of life?
Who knew then that this incredible act of bravery and sacrifice would
lead to a stronger sense of patriotism, resolve, and a reaffirmation of the
value of human life?
Jordan stood at the wooden gate that now protects the
hallowed ground, staring at the boulder placed to mark the precise crash
location. It could not have been a quick
death – those brave souls knew exactly what they were about to do. For an instant Jordan questioned her own
courage: Would she have done the same?
Lord, since 9-11 we see the sky differently,
we travel our countryside in awe and we remember the thunder that rocked our
mountains. We treasure the gift those heroes gave us, the sacrifices they made
for us, and their courage to remain free. Amen
