A father of one of the heroes of Flight 93 is demanding that his son’s name not be included in a national memorial planned for the crash site, pointing to what some have called Muslim symbolism in the design.
Tom Burnett Sr., who served on the jury that selected the design, said the memorial is an insult to the innocent people who were killed near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I was against it from Day One,” Burnett said.
Thomas Burnett Jr., 38, was killed along with 39 other passengers and crew when the hijacked plane plunged into the reclaimed strip mine.
This week, Burnett Sr. announced his decision to request his son’s name be withheld through an outspoken critic of the design, Alec Rawls of Palo Alto, Calif.
Rawls has penned a book denouncing the design, originally called “Crescent of Embrace.”
“There is nothing that triggered it recently,” Burnett said. “I’ve thought about it for a long time.”
Rawls announced that Burnett will not allow his son’s name to be inscribed on one of the 44 glass blocks supposedly included in the design.
But even the idea that 44 glass blocks are to be part of the memorial is a point that those representing memorial efforts repeatedly have denied.
“That has been disproved so many times,” spokesman Bill Hayworth said in an earlier interview.
Burnett said he is unsure about the inclusion of 44 glass blocks – which Rawls has interpreted to include the four terrorists.
“I haven’t seen the design that includes 44 glass blocks,” he said.
But he said the overall design cannot honor the heroes of Flight 93.
“The crescent, the star, the wind-chime tower – it’s just riddled with (Muslim symbolism),” Burnett said, adding that he would like to see an objective investigation into the design.
“The how and the why, let’s find out,” he said, adding that he is unsure whether he can actually stop the National Park Service from using his son’s name in the memorial.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I will tell you this: I will find out. Maybe it will be the finger snap that wakes some people up.”
Memorial planners have said the design, selected two years ago, will move ahead as planned and that Rawl’s claims are unfounded.
Joanne Hanley, superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial, said, Rawls “bases all of his conclusions on faulty assumptions.”
Local News
Dad: Keep son's name off memorial
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Boil-water notice issued in Upper Yoder Township
A boil-water notice has been issued for a portion of Upper Yoder Township as crews work to repair a leak along Route 271. -
No NDIC jobs to stay in city
After years of political clashes and fiscal uncertainty, these are the facts of the National Drug Intelligence Center’s final days:
• 87: The number of employees losing their jobs as NDIC operations wind down this year.
• 57: The number of staffers, aside from those 87, who will be offered jobs in Washington, D.C.
• Zero: The number of NDIC-related jobs that will remain in Johnstown. -
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I had a couple of interesting interviews over the past 24 hours. The first was with an ambitious Forest Hills High School junior who organized a Red Out across the district today in support of American Heart Association. Like many of those involved in Heart Association benefits, Spencer Ivock was inspired by his own family members' experience with heart disease.
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Forest Hills junior puts his heart into Red Out
Forest Hills junior Spencer Ivock is “redding out” the schools today for his senior project.
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Local pair accused of robbing home twice
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Cambria Somerset Authority officials plan to meet this week with representatives of an Ohio-based steel company about a plan that could put a coal mine south of the Quemahoning Reservoir.
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In brief: Somerset motorist dies in crash
A 28-year-old Somerset man was killed Thursday morning when his vehicle left the road, hit a drainage ditch and rolled over.
- Births 02/03/2012
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For the thousands who show up at Gobbler's Knob as early as 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, Groundhog Day is about more than whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow: It's an excuse to party.
The Tribune-Democrat's Justin Dennis spent the night among the masses and captured all of the festivities on film. -
[VIDEO] Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction
More than 18,000 people – some representing states as far away as Arkansas and Oregon – crammed into the outdoor amphitheatre of Gobbler’s Knob on Thursday for the annual weather party known as Groundhog Day.
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