architect beautifully designed what we see today and what is left to come. their real genius though is that they joined the chorus of our partnership of people, listened to it, and to the land and to the sky, and played back their souls to create this representation of thanks, honor, and spirit of the 40 heroes of flight 93, who acted together, fought back, prayed, gave their lives for us all and our nation. the heroes lie there by that big solid stone. they stand tall, speaking to us forever in these 40 panels. each name, each equal, yet, as evidented in the the unique veining in each marble slice,
in each marble slice, individuals, who knowingly chose, voted and then took action to avert an even greater american tragedy. they are the courage of free peoples everywhere. they are our past, they are our future. this place is the people s gift to america. a national park and a national memorial for as long as this nation shall live. it is my great and humble honor to present this memorial on behalf of the people of this wonderful partnership to all of the people of the united states of america. will all of you please follow mr. jarvis? thank you very much. [ applause ]
have to go. i love you. another said, it s up to us, i think we can do it. and one of the most stirring accounts, todd beamer, a father of two with a pregnant wife with a home in new jersey asked the air operator to join him in reciting the lord s prayer. then he helped lead the charge with the words let s roll. with their selfless act, the men and women who stormed the cockpit lived out the words greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. and with their brave decision, they launched the first counter offensive of the war on terror. most likely target the hijacked plane with the united states capitol. we ll never know how many innocent people might have been lost, but we do know this, americans are alive today because the passengers and crew of flight 93 chose to act. and our nation will be forever grateful. the 40 souls who perished on the plane left a great deal behind. they left spouses and children and grandchildren. whom miss them