Back in the middle of 2011, the City of Yuma Fire Chief Jack McArthur was able to secure our department a piece of history. This 24 inch by 9 inch by 18 inch remnant I-beam artifact of the Twin Tower will be the centerpiece of a memorial dedicated for those emergency responders who lost their lives September 11, 2001.
What is an artifact? They could be personal items found in the rubble, or parts of a destroyed building. In our picture is a small piece of a structural I-beam. There are indentations in the residual concrete where other steel crossbeams rested against it. Were they placed there before or after it fell, that may never be known for certain. There are other artifacts that have been shipped across the country and around the world by the New Jersey Port Authority, to be put on display in museums or at fire departments as a reminder of that tragic day, things like a burned out ambulance, a crushed Port Authority Police car . . . a badge.
The memorial will be built after the completion of Fire Station 1, in November of 2012.
Sketches of the memorial design are underway. As soon as they are approved, I'll upload them and you can see what will be coming for our artifact. When it's completed, the memorial will be open for those who wish to visit and reflect.
We will never forget!
It's a wonderful thing that you are doing Debra! We will NEVER forget ... and one way to ensure that younger generations know about this tragic event that has impacted so many of us, is to preserve it in memorials ... thanks for your part in this. ~Theresa Sneed, author of No Angel and From Heaven to Earth
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Theresa! And thank you for following the blog, too.
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