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Pentagon Memorial misspells site of Pennsylvania plane crash Date published: 8/19/2008
By PAMELA GOULD The Pennsylvania Department of Highways Web site notes that the Sept. 11, 2001, crash of United Flight 93 "put Shanksville on the international map of terrorism." Unfortunately, that worldwide reputation hasn't been enough to keep the southwestern Pennsylvania borough's name from being misspelled. Media outlets have done it. Bloggers have done it. Even the Justice Department did it in a news release eight days after the terrorist attacks--adding an extra 'e.' Now that mistake literally is carved in stone. The soon-to-be dedicated first permanent memorial to the Sept. 11 attacks, located at the Pentagon, has the error etched on a stone bearing the names of the 184 people killed in Arlington. The black granite locator stone currently reads: "On September 11, 2001, acts of terrorism took the lives of thousands at the World Trade Center in New York City, in a grassy field in Shankesville, Pennsylvania and here at the Pentagon. "We will forever remember our loved ones, friends and colleagues." Donna Glessner is a native of Shanksville and serves as vice chair of the Federal Advisory Commission for the Flight 93 Memorial. She was surprised to hear of the error but not upset. "I've never seen Shanks-ville misspelled. That's what's shocking to me," Glessner said. She knew early reporting of the terrorist attacks contained errors as the media and government officials scrambled to gather information, and she said that may have contributed to the mistake. If it were up to her, she would change the wording entirely. "The more accurate thing to say is that the plane crashed in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County. Shanksville is actually two miles away," she said. Jean Barnak, project manager for the memorial, said she was glad to learn of the problem yesterday so that there would be enough time to get it fixed before the dedication "I've talked to the contractor, and they're going to be out here next week," she said yesterday afternoon. Jim Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund and brother of one of the victims, said the error is just one of the issues to fix as the memorial is finalized. He said it can easily be rectified by removing that section of the stone, inlaying a new one and then redoing the engraving. "I think it will give it even more prominence," he said. The locator stone includes an alphabetical listing of the 59 victims on board American Airlines Flight 77 and the 125 people killed inside the Pentagon. Pentagon Renovation Program spokesman Bill Hopper said staff had been working diligently to avoid misspell-ing any victim names. "I know they've gone over the names of the family members multiple, multiple times," Hopper said. No one reached at the Pentagon yesterday knew how Shanksville got through the review process with an extra 'e.' "How it got there is less important than that we get it fixed," Barnak said. Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Date published: 8/19/2008
IN the blue box 'About the Memorial', the 2nd and 3rd sentence leads me to believe that who ever misspelled Shanksville at one time worked for the FLS!
This is not a humor story. Shame on the Free Lance Star for thinking a funny headline was needed for this story.
"The memorial is breathtaking and sends chills down the spine on a hot day. Instead you chose to point out an error that will soon be obsolete!"
We'll send you the bill then, k? It's an ignorant mistake that will probably cost taxpayers thousands to fix. The point is that this sort of waste occurs daily in the halls of bureaucracy. A few typos in the paper don't cost a thing.
. . of the Free Lance Star reporting on a spelling error.
Every morning I approach my daily edition of the FLS with solicitous anticipation knowing I'll be faced with deciphering the spelling, grammar punctuation and syntax that comprises its writing.
Oh yes- they misspelled Shanksville on the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial- that has yet to be opened or dedicated- an error that will be fixed. It’s rather unfortunate that you did not take the time to actually write an article of interest- an article that educates your readers on the design, storyline and the background of the memorial- encouraging them to visit. The memorial is breathtaking and sends chills down the spine on a hot day. Instead you chose to point out an error that will soon be obsolete!
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