A World Trade Center I-beam destined to become the centerpiece of a monument in a Port Angeles park will be escorted around Clallam County for public viewing Tuesday.
A contingent of motorcycle-riding veterans carrying U.S. flags will accompany the 1,400-pound piece of Ground Zero as it travels by trailer to Sequim, Port Angeles, Clallam Bay, Neah Bay and Forks.
At least 15 American Legion and Patriot Guard riders are expected to make the trip, said Jeff McFarland, American Legion Post 29 vice commander.
McFarland said the riders will form a “flag line” at each stop for presentation of the I-beam from the World Trade Center in New York, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Stand in remembrance
The I-beam “is a piece of what happened on 9/11,” McFarland said, “and it was a tragic thing, and we’re there to stand in remembrance of it.”
Public safety personnel from various agencies, whether firefighters or law enforcement, are also expected to attend the stops.
Organizers are racing to have the I-beam installed on a brass pedestal beside the public safety monument in Francis Street Park in time for the dedication on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
They need to raise $5,000 to complete that task and are accepting donations.
Coast Guard servicemen Sam Allen and Andrew Moravec worked for three years to bring the 9-foot-long I-beam from Ground Zero to Port Angeles.
Allen, who had finished a four-year assignment at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, transferred to a new duty station in Puerto Rico on Thursday after getting his first glimpse of the long-awaited artifact as he helped unload it from a truck into a Port Angeles warehouse Wednesday.
Allen said he hopes to return for the Sept. 11 dedication.
Symbol of sacrifice
Capt. Duke Moroz of the Port Angeles Fire Department said the I-beam is a symbol of the sacrifices made by firefighters and police alike Sept. 11, 2001.
The monument, he said, will also be a sign of respect for all those who put themselves in harm’s way.
“I think this is going to be a monument, a permanent symbol, that somebody out there cares about what we do on a day-to-day basis,” Moroz said.
“That’s what it means to me.”
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.
Since the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey required nonprofit sponsorship of the relic of the fallen towers, the Port Angeles Fire Department Auxiliary stepped up to provide it, said Alan Barnard, chairman of the Clallam County Public Safety Tribute Committee, which has worked with the Port Angeles Fire Department Auxiliary on the project.
Contributions to the memorial can be made at each of the stops Tuesday.
They also can be sent to the Public Safety Tribute Committee, P.O. Box 845, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
