DOINews: Secretary Salazar Honors Heroes at Flight 93 Memorial

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined First Lady Mrs. Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura W. Bush and Governor Edward Rendell, in honoring the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93 and all those who lost their lives on September 11th.

The ninth annual observance of Flight 93 and September 11th took place at the future site of Flight 93 National Memorial. See photos here.

The first phase of the memorial will be completed by the 10th anniversary of 9/11, including the memorial plaza and wall, a 2.5 mile entrance road, a ring road that encircles the Field of Honor, an arrival court and visitor contact station, and a parking area.

The next phase, for which funding is still being raised, will include a visitor and education center, 40 memorial groves each with 40 trees, and a walkway that follows the ring road down to the Field of Honor and the crash site.

The memorial is expected to cost $58 to $60 million to complete, with the funding coming from private contributions and state and federal appropriations. So far, the National Parks Foundation has raised $15 million of the $30 million goal in private funding.