Shanksville, Pa had always been a quiet farming community. On September 11, 2001 the lives of everyone in and around Shanksville changed forever. The residents of this small rural community witnessed a passenger plane plunge out of the sky and crash in an open field, creating a huge fireball. The town and the entire world would never be the same. Following the crash it was discovered the plane’s passengers had fought back against terrorists and prevented an attack on the capitol building in Washington DC.
The Reverend A.T. Mascherino was from Shanksville and wanted to do something. He got involved with making and donating memorial buttons to benefit local volunteer fire departments. Traveling on the road about 3 miles from the crash site he saw an old church for sale. He stopped and looked at the old wooden structure and felt a desire to create a chapel to honor those who had died in the crash. He had very little funds. When he inquired about purchasing the old church Reverend Mascherino was told a down payment had already been put on it that morning
Soon he was contacted by the bank and told the purchaser had backed out of the deal. Mascherino quickly went to the bank. He only had $300 for a down payment, which was not enough. After selling his coin collection and other antiques he then had enough money for the down payment.
The structure was in terrible condition. It needed a new roof and many other improvements. Undaunted he set about fixing the structure on his own. People would drive by to see Mascherino working on the building. When they asked what he was doing he’d tell them about making a chapel to honor those who had died on Flight 93. When people heard this they began volunteering their time and donating materials. Eventually an employee of a lumber company stopped by the building. When he learned about the chapel he contacted the owner of the company. It was August 2002 and Mascherino had given up on his dream of having the chapel completed by the one year anniversary of the crash. When the owner of lumber company learned about the chapel he told his employees to spare no expense. They were to do whatever it took to have the chapel built by September 11, 2002. The Flight 93 Memorial Chapel was ready for the one year anniversary of the crash of Flight 93. Today it stands as a place of honor, worship and devotion.
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