Brother of Flight 93 victim reflects on 9/11 23 years later

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — The names of the 40 people who died on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, are etched on marble walls at the National Flight 93 Memorial including Edward Porter Felt.

Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek spoke with Felt’s brother, Gordon.

“There’s mixed feelings. Every time I come I get to spend time with my brother, but I’m reminded what happened,” Felt said. “These 40 heroes lost their lives that morning and it’s difficult.”

Felt has never forgotten where he was on September 11, 2001.

“I was up in central New York,” he recalled. “My wife and I ran a children’s camp, and were at camp that morning.”

He knew his brother, Edward, a software engineer, was traveling to San Francisco for work that day.

He never thought he’d be involved in what he was watching unfold on TV, as hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“I got the first call from my sister-in-law saying, ‘Ed’s traveling. As soon as he lands I’ll get in touch with him and let you know he’s ok.’ I left a message on his cell phone to call as soon as he was able so we knew he was safe,” Felt said. “Then it was the second call I got from Sandy when she had confirmation that Flight 93 was down and that there were no survivors.”

Felt said his brother made one of the last phone calls from Flight 93. He was on the phone with a 911 operator when the plane went down.

The passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers, causing the plane to crash before it reached the U.S. Capitol, which is believed to have been the intended target.

“We know that if it weren’t for the actions of these 40 heroes, the heroism they displayed that day, September 11, and the subsequent days following September 11 could have been very different if the last images of the day were the Capitol dome in flames, in ruins, because this flight got to where it was supposed to go,” Felt said. “With that sorrow with that pain, there’s also a sense of pride knowing Ed was part of this unique group that won that first battle in this war on terror.”

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and later Former President Donald Trump laid wreaths at the wall of names and walked with family to the impact site.

Felt said he’s thankful it’s an area that is usually only accessible to family.

“We ask that people remember the Sacred Ground is an open grave,” he said. “They were only able to recover about 8% of the bodily remains of our loved ones, so they’re there, and we are so grateful that part of the plan is that sacred ground is being preserved.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW