Stephen Clark began laying the groundwork for the 20th anniversary service for 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial five months ago.

Clark is the National Park Service superintendent at the Somerset County memorial that pays tribute to 40 men and women who died when United Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville. They had attempted to wrest control of the jetliner, which took off from Newark, N.J., on Sept. 11, 2001, from four hijackers intent on using it to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Tribune-Review Emily Schenkel, god child of Flight 93 flight attendant Lorraine Bay looks at a display featuring photographs of passengers and crew members at the Flight 93 National Memorial Visitor Center on Sept. 9, 2015.  

Enlisting support for events at the memorial is the easiest part of his job, Clark said.

“It’s literally a phone call away,” he said. “All I have to do is pick up the phone and people say, ‘What can we do for ‘The 40?’ ”

There will be much to do over the next year.

Although attendance was limited to the Families of Flight 93 and Park Service staff and volunteers on Friday for the 19th anniversary service thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Clark said it wouldn’t be surprising to see 10,000 people gathered next September at the sprawling memorial — provided the virus is under control.

“The 20th is going to be special, no question,” Clark said.

Tribune-Review A couple looks toward the Wall Of Names from the Flight Path Overlook at the Flight 93 National Memorial on Sunday, April 24, 2016, in Stony Creek.  

Regardless of how large the crowd is, Clark is adamant that the event be solemn and focus on the sacrifice of “The 40.”

“It’s a challenge when it’s a public event because oftentimes, you can’t control behavior, and that’s just America,” Clark said. “But what we can do is provide an atmosphere of serenity and respect.”

Members of the rural community, including about 100 volunteer ambassadors — many of whom have committed nearly two decades of service to the site — as well as local, state and federal agencies and local businesses, all come together at the memorial that was more than a decade in the making.

“When the American people and this community came together and said we want to do something special, it worked,” Clark said.

The Families of Flight 93 and supporters in the Friends of Flight 93 raised millions of dollars in public and private funds and helped assemble the property from several owners and iron out disputes over the design before the stunning memorial in the midst of the Allegheny Mountains became a reality.

Tribune-Review Handwritten notes and memorabilia are left at the temporary Flight 93 national memorial on May 10, 2006.  

The site opened on Sept. 11, 2015 — the last of three national 9/11 memorials to open. The Pentagon site, which honors 184 people who died there, opened in 2008. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City that honors the 2,977 people who died in the World Trade Center towers opened in 2014.

Gordon Felt, one of the leaders of the Families of Flight 93, lost his brother Edward when the jetliner crashed in an abandoned strip mine in farm country. He said the creation of the memorial in rural Somerset County has been a long journey that birthed many cherished friendships among the various stakeholders in tiny Shanksville and Stonycreek Township and across the country.

They’ve all had a voice in planning these events.

Katie Cordek, a ranger at the site and spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said such partnerships have been key to operations at the memorial.

“We literally couldn’t function without any of them,” she said.

Tribune-Review National Park Service employees gather around a half-mast flag on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019 for the 9/11 Memorial Service at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville.  

Their contributions are countless. In addition to thousands of hours spent ushering visitors around the site, local volunteers have collected and preserved its stories for the future, working with Park Service archivists.

Chuck Wagner, a local retiree who has been a volunteer ambassador from the start, has published two coffee table books of photos documenting the site from day one. He still volunteers at the memorial every week and is working on a third book, which should be available for the 20th anniversary.

“It’s the least I can do after what they did for us,” Wagner said Friday, standing in front of the marble wall where the names of “The 40” are inscribed.

The site, located on a winding mountain highway two hours from the nearest large city, began drawing thousands of visitors long before it became a completed national memorial.

A decade ago, on Sept. 10, 2010, President Barack Obama and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited to pay tribute to “The 40” at the memorial’s official dedication.

Tribune-Review Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton interact during a dedication ceremony for the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville on September 10, 2011.  

On Friday, Park Service officials juggled visits from President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrat seeking to unseat him.

Trump addressed the closed scaled-back service at 10:03 a.m. — the hour and minute of the crash.

Biden arrived later to lay a wreath at the memorial and greet family members still gathered at the wall.

“The 19th is in the books now,” Clark said, as the afternoon ceremonies began to wind down. His focus, already months in the works, squarely turns to Sept. 11, 2021.

Tribune-Review Luminaria highlight the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in 2016.  

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