Posted By:
MAF Blogger Matt
Permalink

Flags planted at the Flight 93 crash site.

The “We Support the Troops and Their Mission” Bus Tour continued with a stop near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Deborah Johns and Joseph Williams each planted a flag on the impromptu memorial which sprang up in the days following the terrorist hijacking on September 11, 2001.  The memorial includes patches firefighters from around the country, hats from different sports teams and universities and other tokens of appreciation too numerous to count.

Joseph Williams speaks to the crowd & the news media at the memorial for victims of the Flight 93 crash from 9/11/2001.

Mary Anne Mapes, Flo Yauneridge and Kara Morningstar, from Johnstown, drove out to the memorial because their son, brother, and father, respectively, is currently stationed in Iraq.  They wanted to show their appreciation for Move America Forward as well as the troops.

Supporters sign ‘Support the Troops’ sheets in Shanksville.

Chuck McDowell heard the plane flying overhead on 9/11 and wanted to support the cause.  He heard about the tour stop on free republic.com, where he has been a lurker since the site began.  Mr. McDowell works with the VFW in the area and plays taps for local military funerals.

Patty Sumner, originally from New York, now lives in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.  She lost her brother, Lt. Joseph G. Leavey of FDNY.  Lt. Leavey lost his life when he was on the 78th floor of the first tower to collapse that Tuesday morning.

Following the stop at the temporary memorial, the tour drove a short way up the road to the Freedom’s Angel sculpture, by Leigh Hennessy-Owen.  With the help of Deborah Johns and Joseph Williams, plus Vietnam Vet Walt Ryniak, a ring of Red, White, and Blue wildflowers was planted around the angel.

The “Soldiers Angel” memorial by Lei Hennessey Owen - at the Flight 93 crash site.

The tour makes its final stop in Baltimore, Maryland at Johns Hopkins University before arriving in Washington, DC.  The rally which marks the official end of the trip is scheduled to take place on the National Mall Sunday, from noon until 3 PM eastern.  The sheets collected since the very first stop in San Francisco will be on display before being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Deborah Johns (with Lei Hennessey Owen) plant a wreath at the Soldiers Angel memorial.