FLIGHT 93 Memorial "Crescent of Embrace"

[Guest BlackJesus]

[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/[/url]
[img]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/multimedia/gallery/finalist_home.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9290/fff5ix.jpg[/img]

[color="red"][u]Design Announcement[/color][/u]

[color="red"]The design for the permanent Memorial for Flight 93 was announced on September 7, 2005 amid overwhelming support from the Families of Flight 93 and the various partner organizations who are contributing to make the Memorial a reality. The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., which is believed to be the target for the fourth terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, when Flight 93 crashed into a reclaimed strip mine in rural southwestern Pennsylvania.

Flight 93 National Memorial partner organizations include the Families of Flight 93, the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, the Flight 93 Advisory Commission and the National Park Service.

The Memorial design was selected by the 15-member Stage II Jury comprised of design professionals, community leaders and family members. The Memorial will be constructed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania at the current temporary memorial site. The National Memorial was established by Congress to honor the heroism, courage and enduring sacrifice of the 40 passengers and crew members of Flight 93. The Memorial honors the passengers and crew members, who, on September 11, 2001, sacrificed their lives to thwart an attack on our nation’s capital.

“The selection of the final design moves us one step closer to memorializing this extraordinary group of heroes,” said Hamilton Peterson, president of the Families of Flight 93. “We will forever honor their efforts and revere this hallowed ground as the final resting place for the passengers and crew members of Flight 93.”

In September 2004 a two-stage International Design Competition was launched, providing professionals in the design disciplines as well as the general public an opportunity to present design ideas for the memorial expression. The competition received more than 1,000 entries of design concepts, including narrative and graphic descriptions for the Flight 93 National Memorial. The competition was funded through the generous support of the Heinz Endowments and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The selected Memorial was designed by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, California with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects of Charlottesville, Virginia. Specializing in architecture, urban design and interiors, Paul Murdoch Architects’ experience includes master planning, architecture and interior architecture for institutional, governmental, commercial and residential building types. Nelson Byrd Woltz provides a broad range of landscape architectural design services including town, corporate, residential and park planning in the United States and abroad.

The Stage I Jury, comprised of nationally recognized architecture and design practitioners, public
art experts, educators, design journalists, family members and representatives of the Partners of

Flight 93, reviewed all design submissions and made recommendations for finalists to participate
in Stage II of the competition. In Stage II finalists refined entries and explained the spatial, material and symbolic attributes of their concepts. The Stage II Jury convened August 1-3 to select the final design for the Flight 93 National Memorial.[/color]


[i]However now the chosen design is coming under fire ..... for it's title of "Crescent" because the Crescent Moon is a predominate symbol of Islam [/i]
[img]http://www.bloomington.in.us/~lgthscac/islamiccrescentmoon.jpg[/img][img]http://www.cpamedia.com/history/north_thailand_muslims/th115_24.jpg[/img]

[color="green"][b]Flags of Arab Nations...[/b][/color]
[img]http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-flags.jpg[/img]



[quote][u]9/11 memorial under fire
September 14, 2005
BY JENNIFER TALHELM [/u]

WASHINGTON -- A Colorado congressman is asking the Interior Department to reconsider the crescent-shaped design of the memorial to those aboard a plane hijacked on Sept. 11 because some may think it honors the terrorists.

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) says the design, called ''Crescent of Embrace,'' could invite ''controversy and criticism.''

In a letter sent Tuesday to National Park Service Director Fran Mainella, Tancredo said many have questioned the shape ''because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam -- and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists.''

Flight 93 crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania near Shanksville as its passengers tried to take control of the plane. Forty passengers and crew died in the struggle.

The memorial design was approved last week at a meeting of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission. Congress and the secretary of the interior still must sign off on the design.

The park service and family members of crash victims said that the memorial's shape -- a circle broken by the flight pattern of the plane -- simply follows the topography of the crash site.

[u]9/11 victim's brother disagrees[/u]

Regardless of whether ''the invocation of a Muslim symbol'' was intentional, ''it seems that such a symbol is unsuitable for paying appropriate tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 or the ensuing American struggle against radical Islam,'' Tancredo wrote.

Earlier this summer, Tancredo angered Muslims by suggesting on a Florida radio program that the United States could ''take out'' Muslim holy sites if Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. with nuclear bombs.

Joanne Hanley, superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial, said the design team led by Paul Murdoch Architects followed what the memorial mission statement requested: It honors the plane's passengers and crew and touches very lightly on the land.

''Crescent of Embrace'' is the name of the design, not the memorial, and can be changed, she said.

''The name is irrelevant, really,'' she said. ''There's a lot of misinformation out there and conjecture and hidden meaning that just isn't there.''

Gordon Felt, whose brother, Edward Felt, died in the crash, invited Tancredo to contact the family members and learn more about the design.

''We feel the jury that selected the final design did a good job,'' he said. ''I cannot even fathom a family member on the jury thinking that they were trying to memorialize the people who murdered our family members.''[/quote]


[quote][u]Full text: Letter from Tancredo about 9/11 memorial
September 13, 2005
Rocky Mountain News[/u]

[i]Dear Director Mainella,

I am writing in reference to the recently unveiled design to commemorate the victims of Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept ember 11. The final design for the memorial recently received preliminary approval from the 15-member selection committee.

As you know, the design for the memorial is called "Crescent of Embrace," and was created by Paul Murdoch Architecture. The appropriateness of the design has been questioned by many people because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam — and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists. Indeed, it has raised questions in some circles about whether the design, if constructed, will in fact make the memorial a tribute to the hijackers rather than the victims whose mission the flight's passengers helped to thwart. The architect has stated that the crescent design is meant to be a symbolic circle — broken by the path of Flight 93.

Nonetheless, the memorial is a powerful symbol for the whole nation and a testament to the courage and will of the passengers of the flight. That said, it seems to me that the Department ought to direct the committee to choose a different design rather than moving forward with a design that could make the memorial a flashpoint for controversy and criticism.

Regardless of whether or not the invocation of a Muslim symbol by the memorial designer was intentional or not, it seems that such a symbol is unsuitable for paying appropriate tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 or the ensuing American struggle against radical Islam that their last historic act and the "Let's Roll" effort has come to symbolize.

I hope that you will reject this recommended design, and urge the committee to select a more appropriate design.

Sincerely,

Tom Tancredo, M.C[/i][/quote]

[Guest BlackJesus]

Flight 93 National Memorial Fact Sheet

[u]Overview:[/u]
On September 24, 2002, Congress authorized the Flight 93 Memorial Act “to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our Nation’s Capital.”

[b][u]The mission of the Flight 93 National Memorial is to:[/u][/b]

- Honor the heroism, courage and enduring sacrifice of the passengers and crew of Flight 93;
- Revere this hallowed ground as the final resting place of heroes who sacrificed their lives so that others would be spared;
- Remember and commemorate the events of September 11, 2001;
- Celebrate the lives of the passengers and crew of Flight 93;
- Express the appreciation of a grateful nation forever changed by the events of September 11;
- Educate visitors about the context of the events of September 11 and
- Offer a place of comfort, hope and inspiration.


[b]Now there was a design competetion that looked at 5 final designs ........ and[/b]
[quote]The competition was funded through the generous support by the [u]Heinz[/u] Endowments and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.[/quote]
[color="green"][b]- I would guess that is the foundation by John Kerrys Wife Theresa Heinz but not 100 % sure how much pull she has with the $$$, or if that is even relevant... but to be fair it could be......[/b][/color]


[u][b]The five final designs included:[/b][/u]

1. DISTURBED HARMONY
[img]http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/8968/1123un.jpg[/img]
[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/disturbed_harmony.asp"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/disturbed_harmony.asp[/url]



2. FLIGHT- A Luminous Roofscape
[img]http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/5522/1135ex.jpg[/img]
[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/flight.asp"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/flight.asp[/url]



3. FIELDS, FORESTS, FENCES
[img]http://tinypic.com/doq51f.jpg[/img]
[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/fields_forests_fences.asp"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/fie...ests_fences.asp[/url]



4. CRESCENT OF EMBRACE (winner)
[img]http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/1342/1145cm.jpg[/img]
[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/crescent_of_embrace.asp"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/cre..._of_embrace.asp[/url]



5. MEMORY TRAIL
[img]http://tinypic.com/doq52c.jpg[/img]
[url="http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/memory_trails.asp"]http://www.flight93memorialproject.org/memory_trails.asp[/url]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[b]So [/b]

1. Should the Memorial be scrapped for a different one ?

2. Should it be kept like it is name and all?

3. Should just the name be changed, but the memorial kept the same?

4. Do you think people are reading into it too much ?

5. Should they switch to one of the other Memorials above ?

[Guest mongoloido]

That's no crescent, that's a freedom arc.