Congressional medal part of Flight 93 9/11 ceremony

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — The 40 passengers and crew who died when hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were honored in a new way during the 13th anniversary ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial.

A Congressional Gold Medal awarded to those who died at the site of the memorial was presented today as part of the ceremony. Bells tolled and the names of the victims were read at 10:03 a.m., the moment the airliner crashed as passengers fought with hijackers for control of the jet.

Today's ceremony also comes as the National Park Service marks progress on a $17 million to $23 million phase of the project that includes a visitors' center and a learning center, which officials hope will boost the number of annual visitors to the memorial from 300,000 to more than 500,000.

"We have to make sure there will be a place to come in the future to learn about what happened," Gordon Felt said just after dawn, near the tent where the memorial ceremony took place. Felt's brother, Edward, was among the passengers killed.

The Congressional Medal will be on display at the memorial through Sunday. It will go on permanent display once the visitor's center opens, hopefully for the 14th anniversary.