Source: MSNBC

Wire Service: AP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10265911/

On December 1, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "Designers of a Flight 93 memorial have made a bowl-shaped piece of land its centerpiece, replacing a crescent-shape design that some critics had said was a symbol honoring terrorists, officials announced Wednesday. The new design for the memorial, to be built on the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 crash near Shanksville features most of the details of the original, which was unveiled in September after a worldwide design competition. But a round, bowl-shaped area would replace a 'Crescent of Embrace,' a crescent-shaped cluster of maple trees. In September, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., criticized the design in a letter to the National Park Service Director, saying many questioned the shape 'because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam -- and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists.' Paul Murdoch, president of Paul Murdoch Architects, which designed the memorial, had called the criticism of the crescent an 'unfortunate diversion,' but said they were sensitive to the concerns... The circle enhances the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site, officials said in the newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize the path the plane took as it crashed."