9/11 Remembrance Memorial
A piece of the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will have its final resting place in Auburn, where local firefighters will make it a key piece in a new monument honoring those who lost their lives that day.
Sam Giannettino, a member of the Fire and Iron motorcycle club, whose members consist of firefighters, said the group drove to Newark, N.J., to get a piece of steel column from the towers. The motorcycle group, plus one Chevrolet Tahoe used to move the piece, escorted the column fragment back to Auburn.
The completed monument will be unveiled during the city and county’s 10-year anniversary ceremony held to honor those killed during the terrorist attacks. The monument, which will be located on the south lawn at City Hall, will include memorials for the Pentagon, the two World Trade Center towers and the two airliners that were flown into them, and Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
“It obviously hit us pretty close to home as firefighters,” Giannettino said, referring to the firefighters and other emergency personnel killed when the towers collapsed after being struck by the airliners. “Just being able to get any piece for this monument, we were ecstatic. We really didn’t think we would get anything. We thought we would have to make a plan B.”
More than 5,000 applications were sent in by various organizations that wanted a piece of the towers, but only 1,500 were accepted, Giannettino said. The firefighters traveled to Newark Liberty International Airport to get the piece out of Hanger 17, Giannettino said. The hanger is closed to the public and media, and the firefighters will only be allowed in the hanger long enough to get the piece.
The rendering and design of the memorial was produced by Auburn’s Four Season Memorials. It will incorporate a piece of steel taken from the World Trade Center, and etchings of the twin towers, the Pentagon and Flight 93. The steel that is placed in the memorial is 27.5” wide, 15” tall and 8” thick.
The monument is in honor of all of the victims, and the 400 NYC firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel that were killed in rescue attempts. The monument quote reads, “You will forever be in our thoughts, never forgotten, you will live on in our hearts. This shall serve as a reminder for all who visit of your supreme sacrifice. Thank you for your honor, courage and commitment.” The community supported the memorial’s creation through financial contributions and personal time donations.
—Citizen Reporter Nate Robson
