Crews at Flight 93 National Memorial already preparing for 25th observance of 9/11
At the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, plans are already underway not just for this year's ceremonies, but for the 25th observance of the attacks, which is coming up in 2026.
Almost 24 years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, Flight 93 crashed in what was then a strip mine near Shanksville. Since then, the memorial has become a place of education and reflection.
Now, one organization is working with the national parks to help keep this place's history alive.
The organization, Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, has one main goal: to make sure the sacrifices of the 40 passengers of Flight 93 are not forgotten.
"We are going to be raising funds, and our overall goal is to raise a million dollars for the 25th anniversary," said Donna Gibson, the executive director of Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial.
Gibson says that the 25th anniversary in 2026 is fast approaching, and that the first phase of fundraising is already in motion with a grant helping her organization to campaign for funds both online and through direct mail.
Gibson also says that they expect to raise anywhere between $300,000 and $500,000 in donations from this online and mail campaign alone. With that money, they will enhance their educational programming.
"In 2022, we realized that what we were missing here on 9/11 was the next generation," said Gibson. "People our age were coming to the memorial to pay their respects, but we weren't seeing students or the younger generation."
Since 2022, Friends of Flight 93 and the National Park Service have initiated a virtual National Day of Learning with many schools around the country. With that extra funding, they can keep teaching the future generations about 9/11 and why it is so important to remember.
The other thing this money will be used for will be conservation at the park and replanting its 40 memorial groves.
Each grove should have 40 trees, honoring the 40 passengers; however, Gibson added that of the 1,600 original trees planted, some 800 will be brought in to replace ones that have died over the years.
Plus, new soil needs to be placed in the ground for these new trees to grow.
"I think, many times, the news focuses on New York," Gibson said. "You see the pictures. Everybody knows those iconic pictures. Washington, D.C., of course, gets a lot of publicity just because of their location at Flight 93, you have to make an effort to come here, so we want people to know that it's a valuable experience for them to come here."
For more information on the work that is being done at the Flight 93 National Memorial, or to donate to their campaign, click .
