PORT ANGELES — A 9-foot-long I-beam from Ground Zero will be set into place at Francis Street Park on Tuesday.
The foundation was poured last week, said Alan Barnard, who handled fundraising and planning for the monument that will be dedicated Sunday on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers in New York City.
The beam is expected to be lifted into place at about 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. Tuesday, Barnard said.
“Wednesday, the concrete sidewalks will be poured. The bronze plaque will be installed sometime next week. And that will complete it,” Barnard said.
“The next thing is the dedication on Sunday” at 2 p.m. at the park.
Coast Guard efforts
The 1,400-pound piece of the fallen towers was acquired for Port Angeles through the efforts of two Coast Guard servicemen, Andrew Moravec and Sam Allen.
Allen and Moravec, who were serving at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey after reading in the Peninsula Daily News that some of the wreckage recovered from Ground Zero was available for display as memorials throughout the nation.
The Port Angeles Fire Department Auxiliary through Tami Ziegler, president, provided the nonprofit sponsorship required by the port authority, while Barnard, the chairman of the one-man Public Safety Tribute Committee that erected the existing 9/11 monument at Francis Street Park in 2002, revived the committee to carry out the plans.
Donations for the $5,000 memorial came in from throughout Clallam County.
Funding complete
“At this point in time, we are funded. We are good,” Barnard said Friday.
“We have met all our goals and have a contingency fund, too.”
Hundreds have already seen the I-beam, which arrived in Port Angeles in July and was taken on a tour of Clallam County to Sequim, Port Angeles, Clallam Bay, Neah Bay and Forks.
On Tuesday, Barnard will bring the artifact on a flatbed truck from the Port Angeles warehouse, where it has been stored since July.
Jay Ketchum of Affordable Crane is donating the use of a crane to lift the artifact into place.
Alex Anderson of Alex Anderson Concrete is donating the three concrete pours for the monument.
Many other volunteers have donated their time and talents.
They include Port Angeles artist Bob Stokes of Studio Bob and Geray Lucier of Lucier Studio, engineer Steve Zenovic, Laurel Black of Laurel Black Design, Bill Roberds and the Port Angeles Noon Rotary Club, Nor’wester Rotary, Structures to Go and the city of Port Angeles.
Among the 2,753 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and eight private emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
Sunday’s ceremony
Sunday’s dedication ceremony is expected to take about 45 minutes.
Space will be limited at the monument, so those who attend must be prepared to stand, Barnard said.
Allen, who was transferred to a duty station in Puerto Rico the day after the beam arrived in Port Angeles, hopes to return for the ceremony, Barnard said.
Moravec, who is still stationed in Port Angeles, plans to attend.
A Coast Guard flyover is planned during the singing of the national anthem by Port Angeles city spokeswoman Teresa Pierce.
A color guard ceremony will include the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Port Angeles High School ROTC students.
Public safety officers — including Coast Guard Cmdr. Tony Hahn, commanding officer of the Port Angeles base, and representatives of police, fire and sheriff agencies — will speak.
Barnard will present a history of the monument, talking about the first monument, which was dedicated Sept. 11, 2002, and how it ties in with the new addition.
Linda Dowdell of Sequim, who lived close to Ground Zero at the time of the attack, will give a firsthand account of what that day was like, Barnard said.
Fire and police equipment will be on display, and the American Legion Riders, assisted by the Patriot Guard Riders, will provide a flag line.
All public safety personnel, local, state and federal, are invited in or out of uniform, and the general public is invited, Barnard said.
Parking for Sunday’s ceremony will be on-street in the area and at Windermere at 711 E. Front St., a block away.
