In Shanksville, New Memorial Draws Visitors

By JAMES R. HAGERTY

SHANKSVILLE, Pa.—People began arriving before dawn at the new Flight 93 National Memorial near this Pennsylvania village, where a United Airlines flight crashed after passengers fought with terrorists onboard.

As the morning sun banished swirls of fog from the Laurel Highlands, about 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, several thousand people gathered on a hillside for a memorial service. Surrounded by wild flowers and dozens of television satellite trucks, the scene looked almost festive. But the mood turned somber as relatives of the 40 deceased passengers and crew members lined up to state the names of the dead, punctuated by the tolling of bells.

"Alan Anthony Beaven, my father…"

"Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas and unborn child…"

"Toshiya Kuge, my son…"

Politicians who spoke at the service stressed the defiance of the passengers, whose clash with the hijackers is believed to have prevented a suicide attack by the jet on Washington. "This is the place where America said, 'No,' " said U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican whose district includes Shanksville. "They weren't going to stand for what was happening."

President Barack Obama arrived by helicopter around noon to lay a wreath of 40 white roses. He and his wife, Michelle, then mingled with relatives of the people killed here, hugged many of them and posed for pictures.

Mr. Obama briefly greeted the rest of the throng. "Obama!" shouted Jacob Harris, a 10-year-old who lives near Shanksville. "We don't call him Obama, we call him Mr. President," corrected Jacob's grandfather, David Harris, a retired building contractor, who said he comes to the crash site on every anniversary of Sept. 11.