Pennsylvania Democratic Party | Friday, September 11, 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

Posted by: Justin Korczynski

Remembering 9/11

Escorted by a motorcycle honor guard and guided by sheriff's deputies, a ten foot long, three thousand pound steel beam from the World Trade Center made its way to a ceremony at the York County Judicial Center en route to its final destination at the Prospect Hill Cemetery. There, the artifact will become part of the veteran’s memorial.

Jack Sommer, of Prospect Hill Cemetery, traveled to New York's Kennedy Airport last week to pick up the beam that was stored among 2,000 artifacts from the Twin Towers, including parts of the buildings and emergency vehicles. Pieces of the World Trade Center rubble from that horrific day have never been more accessible. A new campaign is under way to speed up the process by which pieces of steel from the debris are given away.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the steel. But, as the Port Authority's executive director, Christopher O. Ward says, "The best way we can honor the memory of those we lost on 9/11 is to find homes in the W.T.C. Memorial and in cities and towns around the nation for the hundreds of artifacts we’ve carefully preserved over the years."

In York, the beam's final destination will honor not only the memory of the 9/11 terrorist attack but also honor the men and women who served in the nation's military.