I just finished watching an inspirational documentary, The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph. This documentary goes beyond the tragedies of September 11, 2001. It highlights communities coming together during the 25 years afterwards. There are stories that focus on the courage, unity, and strength of survivors and their families after the attack.
There are also many stories that are a tribute to the resilience of people throughout the United States in the aftermath of 9/11. What made the documentary extra-special for me was when they highlighted three retired NYC first responders who are now living in my community of Clermont, Florida.
At the conclusion of the documentary, the viewer is provided with ideas on how we can continue moving forward with positive moments of hope. We are encouraged to “change our gaze from looking behind, to looking forward.”
A few years after the 9/11 tragedy, my husband and I were traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and we spontaneously decided to get off at the Somerset exit to look for the Flight 93 memorial site. At that time, there was no formal memorial, just a cross and a temporary fence with mementoes left by visitors.
As we gazed across the field to a boulder that marks the site of the crash at the edge of the forest perimeter, we were very moved by the sacredness of the space.
On September 10, 2011, a formal Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated. We have not had an opportunity to go there yet. However, from the photos that I have seen, it looks like a fitting tribute to the heroes on that flight.
The Friends of Flight 93 and the National Park Foundation have tried very hard to include many natural features at the site. They achieved their 10- year goal of planting 150,000 native tree seedlings by 2022. They are currently working on what they are calling The Resiliency Project to revitalize the trees in the 40 Memorial Groves and to add 2,000 deciduous tree to define the open field where Flight 93 crashed. The project also includes a multi-year remediation project to improve tree health and soil conditions.
Mary Kaeding