(BROWNSBURG, Ind.) – Another piece of the World Trade Center has come to rest in Indiana.
Brownsburg has dedicated a 9/11 memorial topped by a charred steel beam from the World Trade Center. The Port Authority of New York has set up a process to distribute pieces of wreckage to local police and fire departments who want one. Brownsburg firefighter Jim Miller brought home the I-beam nine years ago, and it’s been a traveling exhibit for 9/11 remembrances ever since.
Fire Chief Larry Alcorn says it was important to have a permanent memorial to the more than 300 firefighters among the nearly 3,000 people killed. He says it serves as a reminder to the community of first responders’ courage, and a symbol that the attacks have left America “not who we once were, but we are not undone.”
The beam is in the courtyard of Brownsburg’s Arbuckle Apartments, mounted at a slight angle to point directly to New York. The fire department is still raising money to add a pair of storyboards recounting the attacks.
A pair of World Trade Center beams form the center of a downtown Indianapolis 9/11 memorial, dedicated in 2011.
Brownsburg firefighters stand at attention at the dedication of a 9/11 memorial topped by a beam from the World Trade Center. (Photo: Eric Berman/WIBC)
