The Tribune-Democrat
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — A United Airlines Flight 93 boarding pass, a Newark International Airport parking receipt and passengers’ identification cards were among the artifacts lost on Oct. 3 when fire ripped through Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters.
“These items are irreplaceable, and we are devastated by their loss,” memorial Superintendent Jeff Reinbold said.
“Nonetheless, this only strengthens our resolve and commitment to create a memorial that reflects the lives and heroic actions of the 40 passengers and crew members and fully tells the story of Flight 93.”
The National Park Service announced the losses Friday after completing a thorough inventory of items recovered from the fire scene near Shanksville.
The inventory was part of the investigation conducted with the assistance of museum professionals and archeologists from the National Park Service’s Museum Emergency Response Team.
It confirmed the findings of the initial inventory completed in the days after the blaze.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, though arson and foul play have been ruled out, the park service said.
There were 334 original photographs destroyed, along with 25 personal mementos of passengers and crew members and items recovered from the crash site. The photos were loaned to the memorial by family members for digital reproduction. The digital versions of the photos were recovered.
Another 113 small objects and paper items donated by family and friends for the general collection were lost.
“For many of us, the fire represents a wrenching second loss,” said Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93.
“But that cannot deter us
– indeed it must push us forward – toward completion of the memorial so that those on board and their collective actions will stand to inspire future generations.”
Also destroyed were were 110 boxes of tribute items left at the temporary and permanent memorials since Sept. 11, 2001.
They include cards, children’s artwork, lapel pins, religious items, patches, toys and decorations. The fire claimed about 100 visitor tributes and items from the original investigation and recovery of Flight 93 that were being considered for the exhibit, the park service said.
The day after the fire, the park service announced that the American flag that flew over the Capitol on 9/11 was destroyed, but the Congressional Gold Medal was stored in a separate facility and not damaged by the fire.
Staff and volunteers had been preparing objects for exhibit in the new visitor center, which is still on schedule to open in September, Reinbold said.
“For a lot of us, 12 years of work were in that one building,”?Reinbold said. “We are slowly getting back on our feet. We are seeing the new visitor center coming out of the ground, so that gives us something to focus on.”
He credited quick-thinking staff and emergency responders with saving a number of critical items.
The 110 boxes that were destroyed represent just 10 percent of the memorial’s collection of tributes left at the memorial over the past 13 years, spokesman Mike Litterst said.
Most of the collection is housed in a high-security facility near Pittsburgh that is used by many government agencies, including the National Archives.
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