Solemn ceremonies at Flight 93 crash site

Bells were rung 40 times -- once for every victim.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- A steady stream of visitors trekked to a temporary memorial in a rural Somerset County field Thursday, laying flowers, singing patriotic songs and otherwise paying their respects to the men and women killed when their plane crashed after an apparent struggle with hijackers Sept. 11, 2001.
In ceremonies far smaller than those a year earlier, flags flew at half-staff at the memorial near the site where Flight 93 crashed and, across this rural community, bells tolled solemnly shortly after 10 a.m., marking the second anniversary of the tragedy.
The bells were rung 40 times -- once for every crew member and passenger who died.
At the site, people gathered to pay their respects. A 12-foot-by-8-foot American flag with the number "93" on the blue field and the words, "Our nation will eternally honor the heroes of Flight 93," stitched over its stripes, was unfurled every hour.
Throughout the day, volunteers led the singing of "God Bless America" each time the flag was unfurled.
Memorial design committee
Interior Secretary Gale Norton placed a rose wreath with a blue ribbon at the crash site in the presence of several victims' relatives in a private ceremony. Later, at a public event, Norton swore in 14 federal advisory commissioners and a director to a panel that has been asked to submit a memorial design for the crash site to Congress by 2005.
Norton said the memorial could eventually cost as much as $10 million. It is believed the aircraft was headed for a target in Washington, D.C., when it crashed.
President Bush signed legislation last year to create a memorial for the passengers and crew members who died. 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 this week 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.
United Airlines Flight 93, the only one of four hijacked planes that did not take a life on the ground, 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 after learning of the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.