A monument to a lie
Flight 93 families ask Bush to OK land seizure
PHILADELPHIA – Relatives of those who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 want the Bush Administration to seize the land needed for a memorial where the plane crashed in Shanksville, Pa., in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Families of Flight 93 sent a letter earlier this month asking President George W. Bush to empower the Secretary of the Interior to take the land in dispute from a homeowner who had been in negotiations with the National Parks Service, said Patrick White, vice president of the families’ organization.
The group says ground must be broken early next year in time for a memorial to be build for the 10th anniversary of the crash in 2011.
Svonavec Inc. owns one of the last large chunks of land needed for the 2,200-acre memorial, including the area where the plane crashed Sept. 11, 2001. Svonavec’s treasurer Mike Svonavec has said the park service has not done enough to negotiate a deal.
“I think the rest of the family members and I feel there is no point at which we will stop,” White said. “Whatever it takes. As long as it takes. Whoever it takes. To do anything less would be doing a disservice to those that we love.”</em>
Hmm. Let’s ponder what a memorial to the Flight 93 victims would include. First, it would be a lot bigger than 2000+ acres, since the debris field was over five miles long. Would it include the statement of the coroner on the scene? “I stopped being coroner after about 20 minutes, because there were no bodies there.” Or perhaps an explanation of cell phone technology, circa 2001, or would that make the “Let’s Roll” skee ball lanes a bit silly?
Seizing land to make a memorial to a lie is as grotesque as hanging a rifle out a window over Dealey Plaza and offering tourists five shots for a dollar, playing “Hit the Motorcade”- and about as historically accurate.
