Shanksville and more. Remember Flight 93

Shanksville has been a stop for the past two years, but this time we actually made contact with some of the First Responders.  And we are happy for the folks we met.

Terry and Rick repped for the department.  And Terry's wife made sure we had a perfect picnic over the Memorial Day weekend.  What a great family, and outstanding cook!  (Still want that recipe for veggie pizza.)

The visit started on a very hot Memorial Day weekend.  On the way up to Shanksville, we stopped as we passed an older cemetery with local towns people sitting on chairs and blankets waiting the ceremony to begin.  School kids read essays about freedom, patriotism, pride, and heroes.

The Honor Guard sat nearby, ready for their part.  Prayers were said while heads bowed.  Flags fluttered on markers, and fans waved in futile attempts to cool the holders of each.

We stayed for a portion of the service, then quietly bid our adieu and headed on to Shanksville.

Pulling in to town, we could see the minor changes from prior visits.  And made note of things we hadn't noticed before.

We found our way to the small station on a hill that marks the home of the Shanksville Fire Dept., alas, no one was there and we had real trouble with our phone signal up in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

At last, JeeNee got hold of the Chief's wife who told us he was unavailable, but she would get one of the other guys up to see us.

So, we tried to stay cool til Rick showed up.  He was in a bit of a rush and wasn't real sure of what we needed.  So we did the quickest presentation of the program that could be done.  As we went along, he grasped more of what this effort was, and you could read that he wanted to stay and participate but he had other prior obligations.

We stopped him cold in his tracks when we presented the Honor Shirt from Fort Lewis' 25 BSB.  That moment when they see the respect being paid from the Troops is priceless!  Quite often there is silence, or a soft intake of air when the shirts unfold.  This was no different.

Rick stood in silence, looking over the shirt, reading the written words from our soldiers.  You could read so much on his face and in his eyes, and I was transported back to the Pentagon watching the Chief receive their shirt.  In some locations, like the 9/11 sites, there is just a different feel.  Deeper, more respectful.

Rick showed us some of the things they had been sent, from fire and law enforcement, and school children and more.  But this would be their first real hands on presentation from the Troops as a whole.  There was no denying the mutual respect from heroes to heroes.

We didn't want to hold him up any longer, so we said good bye and headed up to the memorial site.

I remember the first time we visited here.  Not sure what we would find.  Now I was curious to see what a difference a year would make for them.  For the most part, it all seemed the same ... Except there were a lot more people visiting this time.

JeeNee took photos and listened to the presentation I had heard before.  we checked for the HeartStone and bell we had left on the makeshift memorial wall.  The bell was still there, and we left another HeartStone.  We'll check back next year.

It is a quiet place, far out in the country, up in the rolling hills.

As we were speaking to folks asking what we were doing, and checking out the tour van, the phone rang.  It was the Fire Chief of Shanksville FD.  He had forgotten our visit was coming and felt very badly.  He asked us to stay there so he could come visit us.

In a matter of minutes, Terry arrived at the memorial, and made us feel most welcomed.  He came bearing shirts and a special gift to be presented back to the 25 BSB.  (*We are still working this issue.  Part ofthe 25th is still out, but due home soon.  The rest are moving, so we want to make the presentation just right!)

As Terry was signing shirts for us, right on the hood of his vehicle, our phone rang again.  This time it was Terry's wife.  They were having a family picnic for Memorial Day, and we were invited.  Of course we accepted! 

It was like a piece of Americana stepping into their back yard.  three generations joining together sharing dishes all had contributed.  Even the heat had dissipated a tad, and a soft breeze cooled us down.

We had a wonderful meal, shared the obvious stories of their experiences and ours.

One of the cool things was this is a 3 generation firefighter family.  Terry's dad has 44 yrs, Terry has been on for 22 years, and now the boys are following in their footsteps.  This was one serious bad a** pic ... Check out Grandpa!

Another really special touch was that as we looked across the road we saw something that reminded us of home back here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest ... A Totem pole.  After taking pix of it, we found out that it was presented by the Lummi Indians right here in our neck of the woods!  In fact, Lummi Island FD is one of our favorite departments here!

We stayed as long as we dare, without throwing our schedule completely out of whack.

Terry placed a special Shanksville sticker on Sharen's helmet, and we promised to keep that spot for them annually.

So it was that we left Shanksville and headed on.

Thank you sooooooo much to the entire Shaffer family.  We look forward to next year, and yes, we would be honored to accept your invitation to stay.

lj