Brown City Firefighters 9/11 Memorial

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This memorial, located immediately west of the Brown City, Michigan, fire hall, was created in 2011 to honor the members of the New York City Fire Department who lost their lives in the coordinated terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. A centerpiece of the memorial is a 19-foot section of a steel I-beam recovered from the wreckage of the south tower of the World Trade Center. The memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2011.

Images

Brown City Firefighters 9/11 Memorial, World Trade Center Beam, 2017

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In 2009, the Brown City Fire Department applied for an artifact from the wreckage of New York City's World Trade Center, which had been destroyed in a coordinated terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. The fire department sought an artifact around which to build a memorial to the sacrifices of the brave members of the New York City Fire Department, which lost 343 people on that day.

Seven citizens of Brown City drove a truck and trailer to New York City in June 2011, loaded the I-beam onto it, and returned home with the artifact. Motorcyclists escorted the truck from the Michigan state line back to Brown City, and many other fire departments lined the route as the motorcade made its way home. The beam's trip from New York City to Brown City was covered by NBC News.

The 19-foot, 15,000-pound steel beam became the centerpiece of a memorial that was created west of the fire station in downtown Brown City. The entire project was funded by donations and citizens purchased memorial paver bricks for the site. The memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2011, exactly ten years from the date that terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the towers of the World Trade Center, killing more than 3,000 people.

Sources

Barringer, Cathy. "Brown City Fire Dept. to Build Memorial to Honor 343 Firefighters Killed on 9-11," Brown City Banner, March 14, 2011.

Levine, Eric. "Hearing Set on Proposed 9-11 Memorial Project," Sanilac County News, March 16, 2011.

Barringer, Cathy. "Orders for Brick Pavers at 9-11 Memorial Accepted," Brown City Banner, April 4, 2011.

Barringer, Cathy. "Fire Hall to be Site of 9/11 I-Beam," Brown City Banner, April 11, 2011.

Fredrick, Dave. "9/11 Memorial Beam Arrives: Spectators Line Main Street for World Trade Center Artifact," Sanilac County News, June 22, 2011.

Barringer, Cathy. "9/11 I-Beam Memorial Arrives," Brown City Banner, June 20, 2011.

Levine, Eric. "Let Her Rise! Let Her Rise!," Sanilac County News, September 14, 2011.

Hogan, Jeff. "A Day to Remember: Brown City Dedicates Memorial," Brown City Banner, September 19, 2011.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Gerald Larsen