Gordon Felt, left, whose brother Edward died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, joins presidential candidate John McCain and park superintendent Joanne Hanley Thursday at the crash site.

SHANKSVILLE — Seven years after 9-11, those who gathered Thursday at a ceremony in rural Western Pennsylvania to recall the events of that day said they worried that memories are fading and that young children have no connection to the historic day.

Nearly every speaker noted how elementary school children have little or no memory of how ordinary people prevented a hijacked plane from reaching its reputed target: Washington, D.C.

"9-11 has become a part of history," said Gordon Felt, whose brother Edward was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93. "9-11 of our young children is our Gettysburg, our Pearl Harbor."

Families of the 40 passengers and crew joined dignitaries under cloudy skies and in a whipping wind near the crash site of Flight 93 for a memorial ceremony. While the focus was on honoring those on board and preserving their story for future generations — the names of the victims were read aloud, two bells tolling for each — there was also an eye toward the future.

From Gov. Ed Rendell to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, the speakers emphasized the need to build a permanent memorial in the isolated reclaimed minefield where the Boeing 757 slammed into the ground.

With memories of the actual events of the day fading even for those who lived through it, the focus is largely turning to construction of memorials in Washington, New York City and in Shanksville.

Active on the committee working to construct the permanent memorial in Shanksville, Felt talked about the urgency of the project, which has fallen far short of its fundraising goals and has been wracked by controversy.

A few relatives of those who were on the plane say the crescent shapes in parts of the planned $58 million memorial and park pay tribute to the hijackers, who were Muslim. A crescent is a Muslim symbol.

None of those issues were addressed directly, though Felt made a point of saying that the team had a "magnificent design" and was on its way to having a "permanent and lasting tribute to 40 unique people."

Kenneth Wainstein, homeland security adviser to President Bush, said he was humbled by the actions of those on board the plane.

Flight 93, en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, was the fourth aircraft that crashed on Sept. 11. Investigators believe those on the aircraft voted on a plan, rushed the cockpit and forced the hijackers to crash into the field, preventing them from reaching their initial target, believed to be in Washington.