Volys responded at Shanksville.
Pennsylvania site of 9/11 crash gets WTC beam
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, August 24th 2008, 10:45 PM
Srakocic/AP
A cross made of a beam from the World Trade Center now stands on a base shaped like the Pentagon outside the firehouse in Shanksville, Pa.
A cross made of steel from the
World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped like
the Pentagon now stands outside the
Shanksville, Pa., firehouse - forever linking the tragic events of
9/11.
Hundreds of
firefighters riding motorcycles escorted the beam from
New York to Shanksville, where hijacked Flight 93 crashed into a field, killing all 40 people on board.
"We wanted to find a home for this steel," said
Paddy Concannon, who retired from the
FDNY shortly before the World Trade Center attacks but spent countless hours digging through the rubble for survivors.
"This is an effort on our part to tie the three events together: The World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville," he said.
More than 2,750 people were killed when two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.
The 2-ton, 14-foot beam, which was pulled from the rubble of the north tower, was driven 300 miles from
Brooklyn's
Floyd Bennett Field to the
Shanksville Volunteer Fire Co.
"I couldn't have dreamed this would turn out any better, all the brotherhood coming down from New York and
New Jersey and showing up here to pay their respects," said
Shanksville Fire Chief Terry Shaffer.
Shaffer said his
firefighters will be reminded of the heroic acts performed that day every time they pass by the cross.
Investigators believe the hijackers crashed the plane in Shanksville, a rural town about 65 miles southeast of
Pittsburgh, as passengers rushed the cockpit in a courageous effort to keep them from slamming the plane into the Capitol.
Shanksville's volunteer firefighters rushed to the crash scene to search for survivors.
"They're Smalltown
USA, but they have the biggest hearts," said
Rich Snyder, a retired FDNY firefighter from Ladder 20 who helped organize the ride.
He said nearly a thousand people attended the dedication ceremony - even though the entire population of Shanksville is only about 300. The name of each victim was read aloud as everyone bowed their heads in prayer.
Snyder urged people to visit the
Pennsylvania town and pay respects to the victims of the crash - and urged those who live there to carry on a part of the legacy of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.
"As New Yorkers, we have to remember that
9/11 affected people across the country," he said.
The cross is not part of an official $58 million
Flight 93 National Memorial being built at the site of the crash.
sgaskell@nydailynews.com
