This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 9, 2011 - In the days and weeks after 9/11, pieces of steel left from the fallen World Trade Center began piling up inside an empty hanger at JFK airport.
Now, 1,300 of them have spread out around the world: in China, Germany, Italy, Afghanistan, India and in every state, according to Steve Coleman, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In the metro area, those sites include O'Fallon, Mo., Arnold, Belleville and Edwardsville, where pieces of steel from the World Trade Center make up memorials to 9/11.
"I think it's a concrete reminder of what people felt that day," says Tom Drabelle, director of public relations with the city of O'Fallon.
Artifacts
Through Sept. 11, 2011, the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History is displaying pieces of 9/11, from melted coins to recovered IDs in a presentation called "September 11, Bearing Witness to History." http://americanhistory.si.edu/september11/
To see the full collection, go to http://americanhistory.si.edu/september11/collection/collection_index.asp.
The memorials, which are often outside fire and police departments, can also give people a chance to remember first responders who died that day, and those in our own communities who risk their lives daily, he says.
In 2010, the port authority started a program offering pieces of the steel building, and the response was overwhelming, Coleman says. Those who got the pieces fell into four categories, he says: police, fire departments, town governments and community organizations. There was no fee for the artifact, and the only cost was transporting the piece to its new home.
The twisted steel fragments will offer communities around the world a way to reflect on what happened on 9/11, Coleman says, and a way for future generations to understand, too.
Median, Winghaven Boulevard and Highway 40/61, O'Fallon, Mo:
The "Spirit of Freedom" 9/11 Memorial at Winghaven Boulevard just before getting on to and off of Highway 40/61 in O'Fallon was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2003, in memory of those killed. The memorial weighs 13 tons.
O'Fallon's actually home to another 9/11 memorial, this one dedicated to first responders. The 22-ton piece of twisted metal is part of the city's tribute to the firefighters and police who died on 9/11. There's also a plaque with the names of those who died that day. To see a video of the plaque, go to https://www.ofallon.mo.us/dept_tourism_9-11.htm
1695 Missouri State Rd., Arnold
The artifact, a 2-foot steal beam, is part of a memorial that will be between the Arnold Recreation Center and the library. A dedication ceremony will take place on Sept. 11.
Belleville Fire Department's Administration Office, Illinois 159 and Illinois 15, Belleville
According to the Belleville News Democrat, the 7,100-pound, 35-foot-long piece of the World Trade Center became part of the Sept. 11th Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois during the Labor Day parade. The memorial walkway, not yet built, will include a timeline detailing events of 9/11.
Holiday Shores Fire Department, 93 Holiday Dam Road, Edwardsville
In Holiday Shores, a 12-foot long piece of the World Trade Center will be dedicated on Sept. 11. According to the Belleville News Democrat, the 12 foot by 12 foot plaza and garden was created by the all-volunteer fire department.