April 30, 2019 - Tuesday
Somerset, PA

The rain has held off so we can play golf today.  We played Somerset Country Club (semi-Private course).  The course is not shy of beautiful rolling hills and plenty of mounds in the fairway.  We both had a hard time reading the greens, which didn't help our score and were in great shape. But, neither of us ended up in a bunker and there where plenty.  The golf course is a place to play for all levels.  They offer 4 tee boxes and 2 set of combo tees. 

After golf we visited  "Flight 93 Memorial" just outside of Shanksville, PA which was about 20 minutes from the golf course.  This is the site of where Flight 93 went down after being hijacked by the Al-Qaeda terrorist on September 11, 2001.

As most of you know, John worked at the Redwood Estates Fire Station.  Mark Bingham's mother, Alice Hoagland lived around the corner of the fire house and would visit the firehouse occasionally.  Mark was a passenger and seated in First Class seat 4D, behind 2 of the terrorist in seat 3C & 3D.  Mark was among the passengers who, along with 3 other male passengers, formed the plan to retake the plane from the hijackers, and led the effort that resulted in the crash of the plane into a field near Shanksville, PA, thwarting the hijackers' plan to crash the plane into a building in Washington, DC. most likely either the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House.

The bench in these pictures resides in Redwood Estates in Mark's honor.  It was a very somber  atmosphere as we toured the memorial and hiked to the impact site.  Engraved in the marble white wall in these pictures is the 40 names of the crew and passengers and lines up with the flight path as does the Visitor Center Complex.  Just beyond the wall is the impact site.

God Bless them all and their Families.