In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the valor of the passengers and crew has become central to the history of 9/11. On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 had forty passengers and crew members on board, travelling non-stop from Newark to San Francisco. The passengers ranged in age from twenty to seventy-nine.

The passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, represented a broad cross-section of society, with ages ranging from 20 to 79 years old. The youngest passenger was Deora Bodley, a 20-year-old college student from Santa Clara University who was traveling home from visiting friends. The oldest passenger was Hilda Marcin, a 79-year-old retired teacher's aide who was moving to California to live with her daughter. The majority of the 33 passengers and 7 crew members were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s—many were business professionals, parents, and community leaders. For example, the well-known Todd Beamer was 32, while the pilot, Jason Dahl, was 43. This group of individuals is famously remembered for their heroic collective action to revolt against the four hijackers, preventing the aircraft from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C. Their diverse ages and backgrounds make their unified decision to fight back even more poignant, as they collectively chose to sacrifice their lives to save countless others on the ground. Today, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honors each of these 40 individuals individually.