As I held little Leo in my arms last week, thoughts of what the world will be like in his lifetime, in view of our turbulent days, filled my mind.

Those types of forethoughts probably creep into the heads of many a parent, or grandparent, when they first lay eyes on their new baby entering the world. We met our grandson, Leo, shortly after our daughter gave birth to him last week on Columbus Day at a Delaware hospital.

We stayed the week to help with chores, or sit and rock the little guy while his young parents grabbed three or four hours of sleep in between nursings. Funny how energized a grandma can be at 2 a.m. or 4 a.m. if the baby needs held and rocked.

At the end of the week, we reluctantly left the new family so they could get into their own schedules and routine, and headed back home.

Instead of driving back the usual way to the Twin Tiers in a northwesterly direction, my husband and I decided to travel across the southern portion of Pennsylvania toward Shanksville where the Flight 93 National Memorial site is located.

The Flight 93 site, located near the Johnstown area, was completed and dedicated in 2011 for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists’ attacks on the country. It is a memorial site I had always wanted to visit, but never found time to see despite the fact it is only distance of three hours away by car.   

As a brief refresher on the incident in Shanksville, 40 passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93 rushed terrorists who had hijacked the plane on that fateful day. The hijackers’ intentions were to fly the plane to Washington, D.C. and crash into the nation’s capital or the White House. When several of the passengers learned of the terrorists’ intentions through cell phone calls, they revolted and rushed the four terrorists in the cockpit. Their heroic action caused the plane to instead crash in the rural field near Route 30, which is also known as Lincoln Highway, by the way.

Their heroic actions are believed to have saved the nation from further turmoil, grief, demoralization and the loss of lives and leaders in Washington. Close to 3,000 other people had also perished in attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon.

The design of the two and a half mile drive into the Flight 93 site, as well as the architecture near its visitors center and crash site are simple, stoic and created for reflection. As the plane crashed near a grove of hemlocks, designs illustrating the trees are found on most of the memorabilia sold at the site, which has no admission fee. There is a good bit of walking both to the visitors center as well as in the lower part of the memorial near the crash site, so visitors are advised to wear walking shoes.

Items displayed in the center include actual materials and equipment from the plane at the crash site as well as the personal belongings of some of the victims. All of the memorabilia brings home the fact of just how much a group of common, everyday heroes sacrificed for our country.

Most touching to me was listening to a couple of recorded messages from crew members and passengers who made their last calls to loved ones. It was hard to fight back the tears when hearing those final good-byes. Other visitors next to me, who were also listening to the messages, could be heard quietly crying.

Despite the feelings of sadness evoked by the memorial, I’m sure many of the visitors felt pride in hearing the stories of this ordinary group of people who stood up for our country by rushing the plane’s cockpit under passenger Todd Beamer’s directive, “Are you ready? OK. Let’s roll!”

As we drove away from the memorial site, instead of feeling the anticipated sorrow after visiting this final resting place for 40 souls, I felt immense gratitude for their actions.

I also felt a sense of hope for the people of our nation who continue to show strength when adversity arises.

That hope also has provided a feeling of calm for my continued reflections on my new grandson and what the country will be like during his lifetime. If the heroism displayed by the folks on Flight 93 is any indication, we’re going to be alright.

(Kate Day Sager writes for the The Bradford Era and the Olean Times Herald. Email her at kates_th@yahoo.com. Follow her on Twitter, @OTHKate)