Tributes

For over 20 years, visitors from all over the world have left items to commemorate the passengers and crew members of Flight 93.

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Tribute Related Questions

What are tributes?

Tributes are items left at the memorial to honor the passenger and crew members of Flight 93. 

What items do people leave as tributes?

Visitors have left a wide variety of items from elaborate bronze plaques to heartfelt message written on paper found in a visitor's pocket. The most common tribute items are flowers, pins, challenge coins, cards, trinkets, and jewelry.

What happens to the tributes?

Tributes are left in place for a few days, depending on weather and deterioration before they are removed and respectfully disposed. As of October 2021, we do not retain any tribute items for the museum collection.

Where can I leave a tribute?

Visitors are welcome to leave small tribute items at the Memorial Plaza in the niche along the path to the crash site or at the Wall of Names. Items must be able to be hand-carried from the parking lot. Tribute items are not to be left at the Visitor Center Complex or Tower of Voices. The National Park Service retains the right to relocate or remove items when necessary.

If I left a tribute here in the past, do you still have it?

We are still working through a significant backlog of tributes. It is possible that we do have it, but until we have finished cataloging all the tributes, we do not know.

Additional questions about tributes?

For more information about tribute items or our museum collection in general, please reach out to our curator.

 

Messages left on tribute cards at the Memorial Plaza Shelter may be shared in our exhibits, online, or in print.

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How can you pay tribute to the passengers and crew members of Flight 93?

• Leave a tribute item at the Memorial Plaza in the niche along the path to the crash site or at the Wall of Names. Please note that we do not retain tribute items for the museum collection.

• Leave biodegradable tributes such as flowers or wreaths

• Leave a message on our tribute cards located at the Memorial Plaza Shelter

• Share the story of Flight 93 with your loved ones and community members

• Consider volunteering at Flight 93 National Memorial or participating in an act of service in your community. Check out our current volunteer opportunities here!

 

A sample of the over 50,000 tribute items left by visitors.

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A Brief History of Tributes at Flight 93 National Memorial

Flight 93 National Memorial has long been a place where visitors have brought tributes. Within hours after the crash, response workers and visitors began to leave objects and messages, often times anonymously left, as signs of honor, respect, and remembrance. For twenty years, staff and volunteers collected and cataloged these tributes, capturing responses from individuals of every age from across the world. Today, the tribute collection numbers approximately 50,000 items and contains objects that represent the full scope of how Flight 93 is remembered.

As of October 2021, Flight 93 National Memorial no longer collects and preserves tribute items for our museum collection. Museum staff now focus on caring for the existing items. Along with the tribute collection, museum staff maintain items such as plane wreckage, objects donated by the family and friends of the 40 passengers and crew members, objects from investigators and first responders to the crash site, and the oral history collection which has over 800 interviews. Together, these items help us tell the story of Flight 93.