Despite reports of National Park Service faxes on the fritz and Interior Department e-mails bouncing, the objections of countless numbers of you to the proposed Flight 93 Memorial have been heard. And here, via AP, are the results to prove it:

WASHINGTON - The architect of the memorial to a plane downed in western Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, said Wednesday he would work to satisfy critics who complained that it honors terrorists with its crescent-shaped design.

Designer Paul Murdoch said he is “somewhat optimistic” that the spirit of the design could be maintained.

“It’s a disappointment there is a misinterpretation and a simplistic distortion of this, but if that is a public concern, then that is something we will look to resolve in a way that keeps the essential qualities,” Murdoch, 48, of Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview.

Good.

The controversy, however, is not over. Some are insisting that the “topography of the land” dictates that the crescent remain. But several other finalists did not use a crescent or arc in their plans. Murdoch should give them a call.

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Don’t forget that there’s another crucial memorial battle still under way at NYC’s Ground Zero. Visit Take Back the Memorial for the latest on how to help.

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The Washington Times covers the controversy.

Ed Morrissey:

Removing the crescent will handle the most objectionable part of the design. However, unless the design does more to memorialize the way these forty civilians galvanized the nation into action instead of defeatist paralysis, it will still do an injustice to their memory. The other elements of the Murdoch design sound and look beautiful, but communicate passivity and detachment. These qualities embody the antithesis of Flight 93, which demand action and involvement of all Americans in defiance of terrorism and the defense of the nation.

Let’s hope that Murdoch will rethink his design to truly memorialize what Flight 93 meant to America. Otherwise, the jury needs to literally go back to the drawing board.

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KHOW’s Caplis and Silverman get a dissenting view from a Flight 93 family member. Audio here.

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Flight 93 memorial: fighting back
(Dis)honoring the flight that fought back
Flight 93 memorial: Seeing is believing
Flight 93 memorial: controversy

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