The Flight 93 Memorial as of July 15. A future phase of the project will focus on adding trees to the landscape, possibly including chestnuts.
I would never have imagined the places a tree could take a person until I came to work for TACF. In about 5 months, I’ve been from Georgia to northern Vermont to Minnesota seeing all kinds of great people and the important work they are doing, both on behalf of TACF and because they love it.
Much of that could be predicted, but I never would have guessed I’d find myself at both ends of the war on terror – where it was ignited and where it comes to an ultimate end for some soldiers.
On a flawless spring day in late April (Arbor Day), the family of a Navy Commander who died of natural causes planted two chestnuts in his honor at Arlington National Cemetary, where he is buried. Twelve of his family members attended the event, some traveling from as far as Charleston, SC for the short, simple ceremony. Also attending were the Executive Director and Superintendent of the Cemetary. The planting ceremony was led by the cemetary arborist. Virginia Chapter Chairman Dr. John Scrivani spoke briefly and Don Davis, TACF volunteer and our Washington liaison, also attended.
We were “inside the chains” to plant our tree, so we became somewhat of a sideshow as hundreds of people passed by from all over the country (judging from the writing on their brightly colored, matching shirts).
Most stirring was the regular sound of “21 Gun Salutes” in the background as fallen soldiers mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq were honored. Long lines of cars with somber occupants filed past at intervals, termporarily backing up the human traffic. It was nice to be part of planting a living thing in such a place, with a twinge of guilt that ours was a happier occassion.
On the other end of the spectrum, TACF is involved in helping to plan the reforestation around the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, PA. This, of course, was the site where the last of 4 planes crashed on September 11, 2001, killing all on board, but noone else, probably exactly what the passengers had intended, but not the hijackers. The main part of the Memorial, which is very impressive, is nearly finished and will be dedicated on September 10-11 of this year.
The plane, quite fortunately, crashed into a reclaimed surface mine site, which is hundreds of acres completely devoid of trees. A huge reforestation project is among the many phases of the project and the Memorial will be expanded to include a circular, forested walkway, possibly including American chestnuts among the several tree species that will be used (you can see an artists rendition of the entire project and a whole lot more at www.nps.gov/flni).
The Flight 93 Memorial is certainly a place of many strong emotions, different for every person who visits. The subtle success story suggested by the chestnut – disaster followed by eventual restoration – certainly offers a quiet, compelling, positive addition to the many stories that are represented by this monument to the 9/11 victims and heroes and their families.
Stay tuned for updates on this project.
livingchestnuts 