The Heroes of Flight 93 has become such a commonly used phrase that we hardly dwell on its meaning. As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day and commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, we should once again consider the significance of Flight 93.

Since the attacks of that day, speculation that the terrorists who took over Flight 93 were targeting the U.S. Capitol building has been confirmed. The people on board took action that prevented the destruction of the Capitol -- that is a breathtaking fact. Their final actions before the crash were remarkable, and instinctively American.

On a recent trip to Somerset County, I was delighted that the Flight 93 National Memorial is taking shape in its rural setting. You can watch its construction at a temporary memorial maintained by the National Park Service.

An exhibit provides up-to-date information about the flight -- including the finding that its intended target was the Capitol. The permanent memorial will open to the public this September and will include a visitors' center, field of honor, groves of trees and a soaring tower of 40 wind chimes -- one for each passenger and member of the crew.

This pastoral site lies about three miles from Shanksville, a 10-block village of houses, stores and brick churches. These days, "the home of the Vikings" is also flanked by dozens of immense white wind turbines. Thirty of them rotate gracefully on the horizon behind the memorial.

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On Sept. 11, 2001, the people on Flight 93 found their plane angling across southwestern Pennsylvania, flying over the hills south of Pittsburgh under the control of hijackers.

According to the memorial exhibit, the passengers and crew waited until they were over a rural area to try to take back the plane. Their revolt caused the hijackers to abandon their mission and crash the plane, so history landed on Shanksville and not Pittsburgh or Washington, D.C. It is incredible that the crash and massive explosion didn't kill a single person on the ground.

What happened before the passengers rushed the cockpit was also incredible. Faced with the possibility of death -- several had already been incapacitated or killed -- the people on this flight were herded to the back of the plane. They must have been terrified, but they were not paralyzed with fear.

What we know about their actions comes primarily from calls they made to loved ones and telephone operators after the hijackers took control of the plane. Some called to report the hijacking and to describe what was happening on board. Once they learned that other planes had been hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center, their understanding of their circumstances changed. They learned that their plane was likely on a suicide mission, so they organized.

Faced with a chaotic and unprecedented situation, the people on board had to decide what to do. They had to come up with a plan and they had to act quickly. So they talked it over and worked together. One passenger told his wife that they were "voting on whether to storm the cockpit and retake control of the plane."

The men did not decide on behalf of the women. The first-class passengers did not decide on behalf of the coach passengers. Their decision was collective. It was the ultimate American response.

Their assault on the cockpit door caused the hijackers to maneuver the plane side-to-side, front-to-back and upside-down. Eventually the hijackers opted to abandon their mission and intentionally crash the plane. Thus, the people on board were successful in preventing the intended devastation, forever linking what did happen in Pennsylvania to what could have happened in Washington, D.C.

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I was living in D.C. at the time, and when I drove up Pennsylvania Avenue on Sept. 12 gazing at the Capitol dome, knowing it was a possible target of Flight 93, I couldn't help but imagine it gone like the twin towers. I was filled with grief and gratitude.

The 9/11 Commission wrote that "the nation owes a debt to the passengers of United 93." Indeed.

I urge you to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County and think about how the actions of its passengers and crew demonstrated collaboration as well as bravery. In their final moments, the most terrifying of circumstances did not prevent them from assessing, deciding and acting together.

Their last actions were evidence of their democratic impulses. It is fitting that they saved the U.S. Capitol building, the symbol of our democratic republic.

First Published: July 2, 2011, 4:00 a.m.