SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- A somber ceremony honoring the heroism of the 40 passengers and crew aboard Flight 93 on Sept. 11 was held Saturday with a reading of their names and the ringing of bells.
Former President Bill Clinton says he and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner will mount a bipartisan effort to raise the remaining $10 million needed to completely fund the Flight 93 National Memorial, and he praised those aboard the plane as heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Clinton likened their efforts to the Battle of the Alamo in Texas and the battle of Thermoplyae in ancient Greece, where defenders of both died to the last man.
He notes that the passengers who overcame the four hijackers were not soldiers, but citizens, who with almost no time acted and gave the U.S. a gift: They saved the capital from attack.
He says they saved lives and denied al-Qaida the symbolic victory of smashing the center of American government.
He says that he hopes that 2,500 years from now, their exploits
Speakers at the dedication of the first phase of the $62 million Flight 93 National Memorial also included Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93. His brother Edward telephoned a friend to report the flight was being hijacked.
