SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- Bells tolled solemnly across this rural community shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday, marking the second anniversary of the deaths of 40 men and women killed when their plane crashed after an apparent struggle with hijackers hundreds of miles from a presumed target in the nation's capital.
In ceremonies far more subdued than those a year earlier, flags flew at half-staff at a temporary memorial near the site of the Flight 93 crash in a rural field. Firefighters and other emergency workers who managed the aftermath of the tragedy were honored at a tree-planting ceremony about 10 miles away at a fire training center.
``This year, we're able to reflect on the day easier whereas last year we were a little bit rushed with President Bush coming to town,'' said Terry Shaffer, chief of the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, which was one of the first crews called to the site of the crash.
The only ceremony planned at the site of the crash was one scheduled for 4 p.m., when Interior Secretary Gale Norton was to swear in 14 federal advisory commissioners who have been asked to submit a memorial design to Congress by 2005.
President Bush signed legislation last year to create a memorial for the passengers and crew members who died.
``This very important commission will work to help us interpret the story of the heroic deeds of the passengers and crew members of this poignant and tragic event in our nation's history,'' Norton said in a statement.
The only one of four hijacked planes that did not take a life on the ground, United Airlines Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when it made a sudden turn near Cleveland. People on board made calls from cellular phones, telling loved ones and others they planned to attack their hijackers once they learned of the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Todd Beamer, one of the passengers, is famed for being heard to say, ``Let's Roll,'' apparently helping to lead a passenger revolt.
Families of passengers aboard the flight say they believe their loved ones rebelled against hijackers by fighting their way into the cockpit and grappling for control of the plane before it went down. The FBI has suggested that terrorists may have deliberately crashed the plane once the revolt occurred. Officials have said they believed the plane was headed toward a target in Washington, D.C.
Flight 93 memorial planners, with input from family and community members, hope to establish a national memorial that will provide a narration of what happened and help visitors understand the significance of the site.
Officials say the memorial could span as much as 2 1/2 miles to protect the rural setting from commercialization. Somerset County Solicitor Dan Rullo said Wednesday the county is close to acquiring about 300 acres, including the crash site and the temporary memorial. The property will be turned over to the National Park Service and paid for by trust funds established for the memorial process.
``We're within days of finalizing some of the agreements,'' Rullo said.
Despite the isolation of the field, located about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in rural Somerset County, throngs of people have visited a temporary memorial since the crash, including some 70,000 people since late May. Many continue to leave notes, flags and other keepsakes.
At the Somerset County fire training center, first responders and some relatives of the victims gathered as 24 sugar maples and 40 mums were planted in remembrance of the crash. ``America the Beautiful'' and ``God Bless the USA'' were sang after a bell tolled 40 times in honor of each of the crew and passengers.
Pamela Tokar-Ickes, a county commissioner, said the plantings represent the volunteer spirit of the people who responded to the crash.
Family members who attended the ceremony said the day was one mixed with sorrow and pride.
``I feel incredibly proud for what my nephew did and those brave souls and what a difference they made. ... They prevented those monsters from continuing on with their plan,'' said Candyce Hoglan, the aunt of passenger Mark Bingham.
Philomena Nacke, who lost her son Louis Nacke in the crash, carried a red rose she intended to leave at the crash site later in the day.
``I don't think time will heal this particular wound with the way they died,'' the 72-year-old woman from Ocean City, Md., said. ``The wound is as fresh today as two years ago.''
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