When the Flight 93 National Memorial is dedicated this Saturday, a special group of fundraisers will be there to help the politicians and victims’ families mark the occasion. Calling themselves the “Let’s Roll Flight 93 Memorial Ride,” some 240 motorcycle riders are riding in 40-person “flights” to the site of Flight 93′s crash on 9/11.
The ride is named after the famous words of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer. He was heard uttering them over an in-flight telephone in the background to rally a group takeover effort aimed at preventing the four hijackers on board from crashing the plane into their intended target.
What is the “Let’s Roll Flight 93 Memorial Ride” raising funds for?
The Flight 93 National Memorial is the only one of the sites from 9/11 that has not been fully funded. Part of that is due to the fact that the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 got a lot less attention as time went on after the attacks. The horrifying sight of the collapse of the Twin Towers, as well as the almost 3,000 lives lost, were etched into Americans’ minds. The crash of an airplane in the middle of Pennsylvania with 40 passengers and crew on board was overshadowed.
The memorial also stands just outside of Shanksville, in Somerset County, Pa. Unlike memorial efforts at ground zero, which had the benefit of corporate donations from around New York City, or the Pentagon, which had the backing of the government, the Flight 93 memorial is literally almost in the middle of nowhere, located in a hilly field.
While some last-minute donations have rolled in over the last few months as the memorial’s plight was publicized, it is still approximately $10 million short of its projected costs. Enter the motorcycle riders, who each raised $1,000 to be a part of the ride. All money raised by the riders will go directly to the Flight 93 National Memorial.
How is the ride organized?
Six “flights” of 40 riders each will converge on the memorial in time for the dedication ceremony on Saturday. The flights are starting in five different locations around Pennsylvania: Erie, Meadville and Conneaut Lake, Pittsburgh and Cranberry Township, Williamsport, and Pottsville.
Each rider has been given the name of one of the 40 passengers and crew members aboard the flight as their “person.” The rider will carry a memorial flag with the person’s name on it that will be attached to their motorcycle, and will also be given a set of dogtags to wear with the person’s name of them. In addition, each flight will ride in a formation representative of the seating arrangement on Flight 93.