93

Michigan Trip: Part 2

On the way out to Michigan we noticed that the Flight 93 memorial was not too far out of our way.

So, we stopped to see it. 

I've been to the Trade Towers Memorial.

This place had the same feeling. 

It's a feeling I've only ever experienced in one other place. 

Dachau concentration camp in Munich, Germany.

Like a deeply empty, cold feeling. 

It was such a beautiful day. 

Probably not that different from how it looked a little less than 13 years ago. 

 This was the impact site. If you look at the end of the mowed path,  you can see a boulder in the distance.

 No one is allowed into this field because it's considered a burial ground.

 Most of the remains were never fully recovered. 

 This is when you pull into the park. It's a 3.5 mile drive back through rolling hills, orchards, and ponds.

 It's so odd to see such a beautiful place marked by such tragedy. 

 We arrived at the same time as a bus full of Amish.

 My sister reminded me that they don't like to be photographed. 

I explained that this is why I was photographing them from behind.

 She didn't seem appeased by my reasoning:) 

 They had markers that described the whole day. 

Pictures of those killed.

 Descriptions of their heroic actions.

 I will never forget this man's name. A true American Hero. 

 It's hard to read, but at the end of the marble wall- each panel with a person's name, it reads September 11th, 2001. 

This is the field no one is allowed into.

 It felt sacred.

 Like the old cemetery near my house.

 Or the chilly, rain drenched gravel grounds of Dachau. 

I did feel some sense of peace here. 

This is a place where brave people were brought home to their Father in Heaven.

Evil was here that day, but so was the most loving force that has ever existed.

God was here on that day.

You can feel it and you can see His love in the actions that these incredible people took, sacrificing themselves so that others could live.  

If I lived my life with one percent of the courage they demonstrated in those few, terrifying minutes, I would feel that I led a brave life. 

Lori Ann