NORTH BEND, Wash. - Two steel I-beams from the World Trade Center in New York City arrived in Washington state on Sunday.
The beams – each 24 feet long and weighing 5,000 pounds - will be used in Kitsap County to create a memorial to heroes and victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.
The Families of September 11th and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey awarded Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue the honor of receiving the two beams.
The memorial will be designed, built, and funded by local donations. The site will incorporate 150 tiles painted and designed by local 5th graders.
Husband and wife team Lee and Donna Summer were behind the wheel as the truck pulled into the Kitsap Mall for its blessing and dedication ceremony. They drove the 3,568 miles, from New York to Silverdale, and said they recognize the responsibility that came with this particular cargo.
"This was super, special, more valuable than anything that you can haul," Donna said.
Joining the Summers and the two beams from North Bend, Wash., to their destination were 787 Patriot Guard motorcyclists.
But Lee said even without their escorts, they were never alone.
"If we passed one or two overpasses from the Idaho state line to here that didn't have anybody on it, I must have missed it," Lee said. "Because every overpass I saw firetrucks, ambulances, people waving flags, people on the side of the road crying. It was amazing."
"As this steel has made it's journey from Ground Zero to our home," said Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue Chaplain Jeff Davis during the ceremony, "We recognize the significance of this of this moment and the opportunity that is with us to create a lasting memorial."
For many of the hundreds in attendance, it was their first time seeing the World Trade Center's destruction up close, and a compulsion to touch the girders took over as people lined up to take photos and brush their hands across the rusted steel.
"When we were attacked, that's personal, said Lee, "and when you touch those beams, that's personal."
Donna said they had the the same reaction in every town where they stopped.
"It was just a different kind of touch," she said. '"I don't know how to explain it. And it was sad, they would cry, and I would hold them, and I would cry. It was pretty rough."
The beams will also be on display at the Kitsap County Fair and Stampede in Bremerton from August 25th to the 29th.
And the Summers? They now pass their cargo to the citizens of Washington, hoping others recognize the ten thousand pounds of responsibility that come with it.
"We could haul anything now and it's not gonna matter hardly, you know?" Lee said.
"Not compared to this" Donna added.
To add a comment, please register or login.