SHANKSVILLE, Pa. -- American flags adorn the houses leading to the memorial of the crash that claimed 40 lives six years ago today.
The site itself is located in Somerset County on a small, windy hill that overlooks a valley and the field where United Airlines Flight 93 plunged into the earth.
An American flag marks where the Boeing 757 crashed.
It's peaceful there now. The wild grass has grown back and grasshoppers on the tall stems chirped loudly.
A tall section of a chain-link fence is covered with items left by those who have visited. Teddy bears, children's toys, license plates, hats, T-shirts, helmets and firefighter jackets hang there.
When the items become too weather-beaten, they are taken down to be preserved. So far, more than 30,000 items have been collected, said Sharon Custer, a volunteer Flight 93 Memorial ambassador who lives in Central City.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Custer was just three miles from the crash site.
"A few minutes after 10 [a.m.], I heard this huge boom," she said. "It shook the entire building."
Other people, she said, saw the plane flying low overhead. Some even smelled the burning jet fuel and some houses' windows shattered.
"A few hours after it happened, there were places where people had started to leave tributes," she added, even though no one was completely sure about what had happened.
Currently, the small overlook serves as a temporary memorial until the official memorial is completed.
"We are hoping to break ground next year," Custer said.
Several people visit the site to remember what occurred.
Helen Stonesifer, of Gettysburg, said she and her husband had wanted to visit the site for a while. As she left, she placed a teddy bear she had signed on the memorial.
Scherrie Creasy, of New Wilmington, said she was driving around and happened to come upon the site. She said it left her without words to express how she felt.
Albert Dutzman drove from his home in Windber with his brother, John, who is from Germantown, Md.
"We wanted to pay our respects and express our thanks to these people who sacrificed their lives so our lives could go on," he said.
