Twenty Six Hours in Shanksville: A First Hand Account
Walking Good With Blessings
kitch Loftus-Mussari
The annual screening in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, usually begins and ends with raindrops, even fog and thunder, but the day of the event is one of sunshine, high clouds and a gentle September breeze. It always feels like it was meant to be. This year’s visit mirrored these words.
Friends start to arrive at the Holiday Inn in Somerset in the early evening hours on Friday. They catch a quick bite to eat. Take in some shopping or sightseeing, and then end the day shortly after night falls. The town of Somerset is quite lovely and historic, and the showers don’t deter the visitors.
Saturday arrives and there is an air of anticipation. The students from College Misericordia pull up in a van and a car and straggle out with backpacks, pillows, purses, books and bags of lunch.
They are still groggy from the sleepy ride on the Pennsylvania Turnpike where Ian Delaney navigated the road in the foggy rain and Donna Ellis followed in her car with a student in tow. There were too many for the huge van, and we were heartened and thrilled to see so many young people who were eager to take part in the weekend.
Everyone meets at 11:30 a.m. to get acquainted and learn the schedule of events for the weekend. The newcomers get to know the veterans. Chris Boos, a 2005 graduate of King’s College, and his mother, Jeanne, say hello to the parents of another 2005 grad, Ann Marie and Frank Pizzani…a mini-King’s reunion begins. D.J. Pizzani is in Biloxi, Mississippi, with Americorp. He joins us by cell phone to wish everyone well; Chris shares his experiences as a correspondent for several newspapers in the Vestal, New York, area. Lots of catching up to do for them to do.
The students from Misericordia get to know our dear friends, Ellen and Jerry from the Pittston area. The meet Maria and Michael from the Poconos. There are a lot of smiles and how do you do’s. They meet David who drove from Arlington, Virginia, to link up with Doug MacMillan from New Jersey. The two men have been corresponding by e-mail for five years and will meet for the first time later in Shanksville.
A Windsor Park Stories shirt is signed by all. It is destined for the collection in the permanent memorial when it is built. The meeting room empties and we set out for the Temporary Memorial to the Heroes of Flight 93 ten miles away.
We travel in caravan along the winding country roads so no one will get lost and as we pull up over the hill, we see many people at the sight on what has become a beautiful sunny day.
We catch our breath…get out of our cars, and Val McClatchey walks toward us extending her hand in friendship. Val is the woman who took the picture of the mushroom cloud that colored the horizon when the United Airlines flight plunged into the empty field in Shanksville. She explains how it all happened and gives everyone a copy of the photo that now hangs in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Next on the agenda is a presentation by our favorite Flight 93Ambassador, Janie Kiehl, who, takes everyone step by step through the events of that horrific day that we all remember so vividly. The students find it especially beneficial, because they came to the site to find out what happened. They want to know, and you can see their curiosity in the expression on their faces.
Janie finishes her presentation and everyone goes their own way to absorb what has become a very sacred place full of mementos left by visitors who feel a need to be a part of this very human monument.
Standing in front of the chain link fence, words are spoken softly, if at all. There is no need for the spoken word here; an empty field with an American flag and a place where there are many words to read soon show the powerful impact of this sacred space.
When it is time to leave, many in our group pass respectfully in front of the 40 Angels of Freedom that stand guard over the site.
For the rest of the afternoon, a trip to a memorial chapel is on the agenda and then a brief rest before dinner and the screening.
Janie Kiehl spends days before the church dinner gathering what’s needed to make it a special time for the visitors to Shanksville. She loads up food, cookware, plates, cups, condiments and two daughters to make what is always a delicious meal.
This year it is chili, not just the kind with ground beef but a vegetarian one as well, along with rice and shredded cheese. This is accompanied by homemade cornbread and peach jam, fresh vegetables and dressing, and applesauce. It doesn’t get much better than this.
We sit like a family at tables carefully decorated with roses, hydrangeas and other flowers and leaves from Mary Alice Mankamyer’s garden. No one exits St. Paul’s Lutheran Church hungry.
During the dinner hour, Doug MacMillan and his 3 year old son, Adam, link up with the group and settle in for the evening. Bill Gaydos arrives and takes a seat next to Christine Fraser and her friends. Fraser, the sister of one of the Heroes of United 93, is making her second appearance at our banquet and screening, and she is enjoying the confraternity. Tim Craighead and his family and his best friend from college arrive as well as two friends of Janie Kiehl.
The dessert table, located in the back of the room, is lush with delicacies prepared by Telk Gohn and Jayne Wagner. They become the topic of conversation.
After dessert, a hush comes over the crowd as Doc invites each person to share their thoughts about the visit. One by one people open their hearts with words of admiration, hope, respect and honor. It is a beautiful moment made more so by a retired teacher who brings the session to an end with an expression of gratitude that is heartfelt and unexpected. As my husband looks into the eyes of the students from Misericordia he leans forward, pauses, reaches for the appropriate words and then he says: “Thank you for permitting me to be a teacher again, if only for a few hours.”
In less than a heartbeat we are inside the neighboring Methodist Church to watch the Windsor Park Story entitled The Peace You Find Here Is Eternal: Changed Forever – Part Three. It chronicles the lives of more than a dozen people who were personally affected by the crash of Flight 93.
How did it change for the Ambassadors who share information about that day everyday for the thousands of visitors at the site? How did it change a woman who wanted to record what children had done to memorialize the heroes who died that day? How did it change a mother who took a picture on an impulse that it might be significant? How did it change a man who takes troubled children to the site dozens of times to help them understand the event? How did it change a teacher from Schuykill County who was able to express the horror of the event and poignancy of the place in beautiful poetry?
These are some of the questions addressed in this story that was told by ordinary people in a very extraordinary place.
The people in this documentary are presented with dignity, and they speak eloquently as they make their way through their feelings.
When the episode ends and the church is filled with light people begin to talk. They say what is in their hearts after an emotional day at the site and in the church.
One who is touched in a special way is Doug MacMillan whose best friend, Todd Beamer perished that day. “I miss my relationship with Todd. I miss those times when Todd challenged me to be a better person.”
Another person shared these thoughts: “ It was truly an awesome experience that touched our "hearts and souls" on a very personal and spiritual level!”
The smile on Christine Fraser’s face speaks volumes. From her seat in the back of the church she listens attentively, occasionally nodding her approval.
Those in the Windsor Park Stories episode receive a gift of a framed collage that is central to the Changed Forever story. All in attendance are given a print of Sue Hand’s painting of the Memorial Water Garden in Windsor Park which is dedicated to the heroes of Flight 93 and contains the same angels that are at the crash site.
Cookies, cake and coffee in the meeting hall downstairs give everyone a chance to talk about a very moving day. A tired group then makes its way through the deep dark countryside to a needed sleep.
The next morning we all assemble for a selection of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, cereal, coffee and juice for sustenance on the ride home. We applaud the woman who made our stay at the Holiday Inn so comfortable. We exchange addresses, and we say our good-byes.
The last thing on the schedule is a group picture taken in front the hotel. A lot of maneuvering, relocating, smiles, hugs and laughter punctuate the last hurrah before the van and cars are loaded and the journey home begins.
Last words include: “see you next year,” “this was so much more than I ever dreamed possible,” “this was the best ever.” Good words to use in parting.
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