A fire of undetermined cause that swept through three buildings at Flight 93 National Memorial earlier this month destroyed hundreds, if not thousands, of valuable items, including personal items recovered from the crash scene.

An inventory of the memorial's museum collection completed by the National Park Service identified "significant losses."

Among those items lost to the fire that broke out on October 3 were 334 original photographs and 25 recovered items and personal mementos of passengers and crew members of United Airlines Flight 93, the agency announced in a release.

"The photos had been loaned to the memorial by family members for digital reproduction. The digital reproductions of all photos were recovered," the release went on. "The lost objects include a boarding pass from United Airlines Flight 93, a parking receipt from Newark International Airport, and various identification cards of passengers, all recovered from the crash site. Approximately 113 small objects and paper items donated by family and friends for the general collection were also lost."

"These items are irreplaceable and we are devastated by their loss," said Jeff Reinbold, the memorial's superintendent. "Nonetheless, this only strengthens our resolve and commitment to create a memorial that reflects the lives and heroic actions of the 40 passengers and crew members and fully tells the story of Flight 93."

Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93 said, "For many of us, the fire represents a wrenching second loss. But that cannot deter us –indeed it must push us forward– toward completion of the memorial so that those on board and their collective actions will stand to inspire future generations."

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, the U.S. came under attack when four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike targets on the ground. Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives. Because of the actions of the 40 passengers and crew aboard one of the planes, Flight 93, the attack on the U.S. Capitol was thwarted.

Also lost, according to the inventory, were:

* Approximately 100 visitor tributes and items from the 2001 investigation and recovery of Flight 93 that were being considered for the exhibit. These include items donated by the FBI and others that responded to the crash of Flight 93.

* 110 boxes of tribute items left at the temporary and permanent memorials since September 11, 2001, by visitors were also lost;these include decorative items, cards, children's artwork, lapel pins, religious items, patches, and toys. Approximately 100 of these items were being considered for temporary or rotational exhibits.

* The American flag that flew above the United States Capitol on September 11, 2001. The Congressional Gold Medal was stored in a separate facility and not damaged by the fire.

At the time of the fire, all of the items slated for display in the new visitor center were in the temporary curatorial storage and processing area at the Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters in preparation for a visit from exhibit fabricators for the visitor center. 

Among the items saved from the fire are:

The fire destroyed three buildings that served multiple functions for the operation of the memorial, including administrative and staff offices for the National Park Service and the Friends of Flight 93, conference facilities, and temporary storage of some of the memorial's archival and curatorial collection.