Iron and Steel NYC To Shanksville, PA
August 23, 2008 - A flag-draped, cross-shaped piece of structural steel from the North Tower of the World Trade Center was carted through New Jersey this morning on its way to a new memorial in Shanksville, Pa.
The cross was strapped to a flatbed truck and escorted by hundreds of motorcycles as it travels across the state from the Outerbridge Crossing to Route 440 south to Route 287 north to Route 78 west and on across Pennsylvania to a firehouse near the spot where United Airlines flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Many New Jersey fire departments plan to have members standing on overpasses above the highways to salute the cross as it passes.
The foundation is a non-profit that provides transportation to families of injured or deceased members of the Fire Department of New York. Its founder, retired firefighter Pat Concannon, runs an excavating business that was involved in the World Trade Center rescue effort. He pulled the cross-shaped section of steel from the debris.
The memorial, which is not part of the official Flight 93 memorial being built by the federal government, will be erected on the grounds of the Shanksville Fire Co., Stolowski said. The steel cross will be set on top of a concrete base built in the shape of the Pentagon.
Flight 93 was hijacked after it took off from Newark Liberty International Airport on the morning of Sept. 11. A group of passengers rushed the cockpit and tried to wrest control of the plane from the hijackers, who authorities believe were going to crash the plane into the Capitol in Washington, D.C. During the struggle, the plane crashed in a field just outside Shanksville, in western Pennsylvania, about a mile from the firehouse where the memorial will be erected. All 44 passengers were killed.
The cross will be installed when the motorcade reaches Shanksville tonight, and the memorial will be unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday morning.
The cross and its escorts left Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn at 7 this morning.
For more information about the ride, visit ironandsteelnyctoshanksville.com.
Read MoreThe cross was strapped to a flatbed truck and escorted by hundreds of motorcycles as it travels across the state from the Outerbridge Crossing to Route 440 south to Route 287 north to Route 78 west and on across Pennsylvania to a firehouse near the spot where United Airlines flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Many New Jersey fire departments plan to have members standing on overpasses above the highways to salute the cross as it passes.
The foundation is a non-profit that provides transportation to families of injured or deceased members of the Fire Department of New York. Its founder, retired firefighter Pat Concannon, runs an excavating business that was involved in the World Trade Center rescue effort. He pulled the cross-shaped section of steel from the debris.
The memorial, which is not part of the official Flight 93 memorial being built by the federal government, will be erected on the grounds of the Shanksville Fire Co., Stolowski said. The steel cross will be set on top of a concrete base built in the shape of the Pentagon.
Flight 93 was hijacked after it took off from Newark Liberty International Airport on the morning of Sept. 11. A group of passengers rushed the cockpit and tried to wrest control of the plane from the hijackers, who authorities believe were going to crash the plane into the Capitol in Washington, D.C. During the struggle, the plane crashed in a field just outside Shanksville, in western Pennsylvania, about a mile from the firehouse where the memorial will be erected. All 44 passengers were killed.
The cross will be installed when the motorcade reaches Shanksville tonight, and the memorial will be unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday morning.
The cross and its escorts left Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn at 7 this morning.
For more information about the ride, visit ironandsteelnyctoshanksville.com.
