Destination // The Tower of Voices
In a grassy field in southwestern Pennsylvania, a memorial to those lost on 9/11
by Heather Shayne Blakeslee
EXCERPT //
Among the speakers at the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93. Felt, who lost his brother Edward in the attack, described the bond that has formed over what is now considered sacred ground for many.
“These proud men and women of Somerset County and the surrounding region demonstrated everything that is awesome about the United States of America,” he said. “Terrorism met rural America: Proud. Strong. Determined.”
He went on to discuss that upon hearing a former elected official speak on the sacrifice of “men and women in uniform” that day, he felt the same about the Flight 93 civilians, and the thousands of others who died. It moved him to question “who we are as a society.” It was not, for Felt, simply “the annual reminder to honor and remember the thousands of lives ripped from the embrace of their families the morning of September 11th, 2001, including the 40 heroes of Flight 93.” It was a question: “Are we worthy of their sacrifice? Are we worthy?”
Amid our division, rancor, and partisanship, it is a question worth pondering. //
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