TOWER OF VOICES
STONYCREEK, Pa. — Before United Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, passengers and crew members, forced by hijackers into the back of the plane, phoned family and friends. Some called to let loved ones know of their situation. Others just wanted to say “I love you” one last time.
The voices of those victims are the last memories of them.
Todd Beamer famously exclaimed “Let’s roll!” before dropping the phone and charging the cockpit with fellow passengers and crew members. Linda Gronlund kept calm in a message to her sister: “I’ll miss you,” she said and quickly ended the call.
Mr. Beamer’s, Ms. Gronlund’s and the other 38 voices that were silenced when Flight 93 crashed into a field in Somerset County will be memorialized in September, when the latest installment at the Flight 93 National Memorial is set to be completed.
The addition is a 93-foot-tall tower holding 40 aluminum wind chimes in honor of the 40 victims on Flight 93, which will be known as the Tower of Voices. The tower, built of precast concrete, has already been erected, and the chimes are set to be installed before the dedication ceremony on Sept. 9.
“The intent of [the tower] is really to create a memorial in sound,” said Paul Murdoch, chief architect of the monument. “Each chime has its own inner voice.”
Ranging from 5 feet to 10 feet in length, each chime will be tuned to a different note, symbolic of each victim’s unique voice.