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The Kuge Memorial Tower located at the Cornerstone Peace Park honors Toshiya Kuge, 20, of Osaka, Japan who died on 11 September 2001. Kuge was on Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania during an attempt by the passengers and crew to regain control of the plane from four highjackers. All 44 people on board were killed, including the highjackers.
Kuge was an athlete and scholar who was determined to become proficient in English and earn a Master’s degree in engineering from an American university. He loved American football and was a linebacker in his first year of college at Waseda University where he was an engineering student. On this two-week vacation trip, the friendly, outgoing college sophomore went whitewater rafting in the Canadian Rockies, and visited Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty. This was his second visit to the US. Kuge was traveling alone in order to immerse himself in the English language. Flight 93 was the first leg of Kuge’s journey home.