So what happened to the land that was confiscated and the money that was collected for it?
Congress passed a law authorising a memorial just one year after 9/11. But the National Park Service and families of Flight 93’s victims spent nine years fighting to actually acquire the land for the memorial.
There is a temporary memorial of sorts at the site but at one point the park service was forced to move it after a mining company that owned the land attempted to get donations from visitors.
They and the families spent years arguing over the sale. In 2008 the federal government weighed in threatening to use eminent domain to take the land.
Several local coal companies caved and sold, but not before they had bickered with the park service over who would clean up the minerals left over from prior mining activities.
Then there was the design of the actual memorial. Several protesters led by a family member of Flight 93 complained the plans included hidden pro-Islamic messages.
It was finally given the go ahead in 2009 only to be halted by a New Jersey construction company who challenged the bidding process.
Then there was the small matter of raising the $50million needed.