BERKS COUNTY, Pa. – In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 25 years ago, the image that remains is one of a pile of twisted steel, smoke, debris, and devastation.
“When people think about 9-11, they think about Ground Zero and the visual is all what’s happening above ground,” says Mark Guillén with the Berks Military Museum.
A piece of weathered steel that sits outside the Berks Military Museum in Mohnton was from a train station that operated underneath the World Trade Center and was crushed when the towers fell.
“I want you to think for a minute about the kind of force that would be necessary to warp a section of steel that weighs six hundred pounds that’s anchored down toward the bedrock,” says Gillen.
It’s far from the only piece of those buildings’ bones dispersed after the tragedy.
“We actually received three pieces of steel,” says Exeter Township Fire Chief Chris Jordan. “One is displayed here at the Reiffton station to honor the lives that were lost that day.”
Another larger piece will be displayed at Exeter Township’s new fire station once completed.
These artifacts serve as a reminder to ‘Never Forget’.
“The phrase ‘Never Forget’ really lives with all of us that lived through that day and especially in the emergency services that impacted so many of our lives and it’s something that we want to make sure we do never forget and make sure we keep remembering the lives that were lost that day,” says Jordan.
More than 340 firefighters and more than 70 police officers died in the September 11th attacks.
“I’m sure that they didn’t hesitate and went right up in there and they knew that they had a job to do and wanted to make sure that they could save as many lives as possible,” says Jordan.
As new generations enter the scene and those who lived through it move on, Gillen says it’s important to continue to tell the stories from that pivotal time in American history.
“Yeah, this is about a piece of steel, this is about an artifact but it’s about fighting men and women for the last twenty-five years who’ve done everything they can to keep us free,” says Gillen.
“We were obviously fortunate that we were chosen to keep that memory of that day alive to make sure that generations to come will know what happened that day and remember the lives that were lost,” Jordan tells WFMZ.