'Towers Of Light' Tribute Underway At Flight 93 Memorial In Shanksville
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (KDKA/AP) -- A special tribute is underway in Shanksville.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is holding a "Towers of Light" tribute at the Flight 93 Memorial to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. The tribute will remain lit through Saturday morning.
The beam of light reaches up to 20,000 feet in the air and can be seen from as far as 60 miles away.
"It was the Pearl Harbor of our generation. These lights represent the souls that went up into heaven," said George Siller, the vice-chair of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's mission is to honor first responders like FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died while saving others on Sept. 11, 2001.
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden plan to attend a truncated ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial on Friday. The Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville is trimming its usual 90-minute ceremony, partly by eliminating musical interludes. Memorial spokeswoman Katherine Cordek said the names of the 40 people killed there would be read, but by one person instead of multiple family members.
The 2,200-acre Flight 93 National Memorial marks the spot where one of the hijacked planes crashed. Three other planes hijacked that day were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks.
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