{"id":118685,"date":"2026-09-11T00:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T05:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=118685"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T00:10:11","slug":"118685","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=118685","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Flight 93 crash in Shanksville on 9\/11: \u2018The first Americans to fight back against terrorists happened here.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Robin Duppstadt was working in the family general store with her sister-in-law Stacy. Suddenly she started receiving a flurry of calls telling her two planes had hit the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe called our other sister-in-law and asked her to bring us a television so we could watch the news while we were working. Before she got there we heard this whoosh sound followed shortly by a very loud thud,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Off in the distance there was smoke. \u201cI knew in my gut what happened in New York and Washington also had just happened here,\u201d Duppstadt said.<\/p>\n

Local first responders, including Stacy\u2019s brother, rushed to the scene. That whoosh and thud turned out to be United Airlines Flight 93, which had slammed into the earth at the speed of 575 miles per hour, landing in a grassy area used for both farming and strip mining. It was the only hijacked plane on Sept. 11 that didn\u2019t hit its intended, symbolic target.<\/p>\n

In the days, months and years that followed, it was discovered that the passengers and crew of Flight 93 believed the plane was heading toward the White House or the Capitol and, to stop that tragedy, they revolted against the four hijackers in midair. All 40 of them died along with their captors.<\/p>\n

Duppstadt and her sister-in-law closed the store early that day and went straight to the local school to collect her three children. She went home and held them close.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never think something would happen in a place like here. You hope if it does the community comes together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Officials<\/a>Officials examine the crater on Sept. 11, 2001, at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Officials<\/a><\/div>
Officials oversee the scene at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in a field near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/a><\/div>
The upper level of the 9\/11 memorial in Shanksville called \u201cCrescent of Embrace.\u201d Stephen Yang<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
<\/div>
\u201cYou never think something would happen in a place like here,\u201d Duppstadt said.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/a><\/div>
\u201cCrescent of Embrace\u201d was designed by Paul and Milena Murdoch.Stephen Yang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They did.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For the first 10 years after the attacks, a makeshift memorial made of plywood was constructed near the crash site. Visitors left notes, flowers, soccer shirts, necklaces, hats, rosaries, pennies and anything else to honor the brave heroes who fought the terrorists in those final minutes of flight.<\/p>\n

Today a 1,500-acre national park overlooks the crash site, and every year, people come to Shanksville to pay their respects and stop by the Duppstadt General Store to sit for a spell on the front porch.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/a><\/div>
The \u201cCrescent of Embrace\u201d is part of a 1,500-acre national park overlooking the Flight 93 crash site.Stephen Yang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Part<\/a><\/div>
\u201cTower of Voices,\u201d part of the 9\/11 memorial in Shanksville.Stephen Yang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Part<\/a><\/div>
The \u201cTower of Voices\u201d was also designed by Paul and Milena Murdoch.Stephen Yang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Part<\/a><\/div>
The \u201cTower of Voices\u201d is a series of wind chimes.Stephen Yang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHere we didn\u2019t lose anyone,\u201d Duppstadt, now 56, said. \u201cIn truth I\u2019d argue we gained people. The family members of the victims have become friends as they come back here to visit the memorial. So have the people from across the country who come here year after year to honor them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the window of Duppstadt\u2019s store is a sign that says, \u201cLet\u2019s Roll,\u201d echoing the immortal words of Todd Beamer, who led passengers on Flight 93 to take on the terrorists, forcing them to crash it in a field.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe first Americans to fight back against terrorists happened here,\u201d Duppstadt said. \u201cThat is something none of us here will ever forget.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flight 93 crash in Shanksville on 9\/11: \u2018The first Americans to fight back against terrorists happened here.\u2019 On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Robin Duppstadt was working in the family general store with her sister-in-law Stacy. Suddenly she started receiving a flurry of calls telling her two planes had hit the World Trade Center. … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-moslems-jihadis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118685"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118689,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118685\/revisions\/118689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}