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by Robert A. Hendrix,M.D., F.A.C.S. http://www.coyotemanhendrix.com/shanksville.html webpage created September 11th, 2002 all pictures and quoted text were provided courtesy of John Lucas of Spring Hope, North Carolina.

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Introduction

This morning, I found myself again, as it had happened precisely one year ago, with no scheduled work until afternoon. With the morning free, I relived in a media flood the horror of September 11th, 2001 - this time, however, I already knew the outcome. During the year, I have borne grief and sorrow for the victims as well as their families and friends who also suffered catastrophic personal loss.

I have often boiled with anger and other intense emotions, though I tried to put my feelings to rest. I have written essays and poems, discussed and prayed, I listened and watched commentaries of those who would lead and protect as well as of those who would apologize and grovel. Yet today, I find myself absorbed in public ceremonies, songs of heroes and Mozart's Requiem, personal stories of survival and loss, retrospective analyses of history's path to this attack, and the final reading of the names - the names of the victims.

I shall never forget these war crimes by agents who received pseudo-military, terrorist training through Al Qaeda. This is, after all, the organization which attacked America and modernity by the suicide-mass murder of so many innocents Similiarly, I shall never forgive those who hold mass murder as in any way 'understandable.'

Though I will not forget the unforgivable, the citizens of The United States of America and I will survive far better than these heretics with their delusional belief system and inability to adjust to life in the modern world. Today particularly, I was proud of my country and my fellow Americans who gathered to grieve in rememberance with dignity and good courage.

Americans and civilized people of heart around the globe have demonstrated a need to express their deep feelings of empathy for the loss and suffering. At a large, reclaimed strip mine in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the site of the crash of Flight 93 has become hallowed ground. The following images are testament to the outpouring of emotion felt by visitors in respect for life and freedom.

I urge Americans and all civilized people to remain strong. The carnage left in the wake of this evil must and is being answered with inexorable force and determination. We have the strength and will to stand hard against such miscreants, especially now that their malicious intent is beyond misinterpretation by even the most naive. We shall survive, and we shall see justice for these criminals. The world of our children will inherit the product of our efforts.

Robert A. Hendrix of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; September 11, 2002

	The field where the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 made the first resistance and brought al Qaeda down.
The Angels of Freedom	The Rock
The Photoweath	The Rotary Memorial

"The Rock, Angels of Freedom, Rotary Memorial and Photo Wreath show some of the various mementoes left at the memorial site of Flight 93. I believe these items have already been placed in storage at the Historical Center."

The Memorial "Wall"	A Guard Rail at the site

"Guard rails have been erected to keep people from driving right up into the memorial area, and they also serve as a memorial to the victims from people who didn’t have enough room to write on the wall (the plywood, with the exception of the original centerpiece, gets removed periodically and stored as well) and those who did not bring flowers, patches, hats, etc. I’m not sure why this one moved me to the point that I had to take the picture, but it did."

Another view of the Memorial "Wall". Visitors express their feelings in any way they can.

"People visiting the crash site leave their own mementoes, flowers, gifts, and memorials. They are periodically cleared away and transported to the Somerset Historical Center, where they are preserved, catalogued, and stored for a future permanent memorial to Flight 93 and its victims. At present, these items take up the complete capacity of four rooms at the center, and are starting to fill up a fifth room."

The Temporary Memorial

"The memorial wall shots I took show were the original sign has been incorporated into the new temporary memorial. Temporary memorial shows a granite marker placed at the memorial area with the names of the deceased. The picture of the field was taken standing by that granite marker. About one-fourth of the way across the picture from the right side, there is a small light colored speck (I wish I had a zoom lens on my digital camera). That is an American flag on the chain link fence that has been erected around the crater where the plane actually crashed. It is about 300 yards from the temporary memorial, which is the former media village."

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"A little note regarding September 11th, and its commemoration. There will be a ceremony tomorrow morning at the crash site at 10:00 AM (shortly after the time of the crash last year). 35,000 people are expected in this memorial area. All eleven school systems in Somerset County, PA, have no school tomorrow. Their buses will be used to transport those who are going to the crash site for the memorial ceremony. The only place where people will be permitted to park is at the schools, and the only people permitted to drive to the crash site tomorrow are the bus drivers."
John Lucas

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Regarding the MIDI file you should be hearing: Introitus: Requiem aeternam from Mozart's Requiem, performed by Maurizio Salvi.

From an idea beginning anonymously in Seattle, a worldwide tribute to the victims of 9-11 was conceived. On September 11th, beginning in Auckland, New Zealand and proceeding westward as the earth turned her face progressively toward the sun, choral groups around the globe performed Mozart's Requiem. This wonderful work of art was heard all around the earth as long as the sun shined for the whole day of 9-11, finally concluding in Amerian Samoa. One of the first to respond to the call for this musical rememberance were people of Latavia. The Latvians stated that they would actually perform the Requiem in the largest cathedral in Latvia and they would invite all the choral groups of Latvia to join in. The reasons sited for this enthusiasitic participation were that Latvians knew what suffering truely is and they felt sorrow over the victims of the attacks in America.

After my mother died, I listened to this piece frequently for months at a time over several years - it was my personal and only memorial to her. Accordingly, it was difficult to hear it at the one year anniversary of the great atrocity.

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If you like this piece then you would probably enjoy the Classical Midi Connection at http://midiworld.com/cmc/index.htm