WTC Steel: a Journey from NYC to Washington State

On May 22, 2011, myself and three other members of Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One set out for New York City on a mission: to bring a piece of World Trade Center steel back to our department in Washington State. Lt. Kent Cooper, Paramedic Rob McCoy, Volunteer Firefighter Ryan Watson and I made up the crew that would ultimately travel the 2,800 miles to Hanger 17 at JFK International Airport to fulfill this mission. When we left Washington, we had no idea how much this trip would mean to us in the end.

Hatching the Plan
This story actually begins more than a year before our May 22 departure, when Ryan Kress, a firefighter at our department, learned that government agencies could acquire a piece of World Trade Center steel. Our fire chief submitted the paperwork on behalf of the department in November 2009, and we received approved in July 2010. Kress took the initiative to start a committee to discuss the creation of a memorial, and began formulating the plan for getting the steel to our department. We ultimately decided that having it shipped wouldn’t give it the full honor it deserved, so we choose to drive to New York to pick it up.

Unfortunately, Kress, who had started this entire project for us, could not join us on the trip. At the beginning of the year, he was deployed with his National Guard unit to serve in the war on terrorism.

In a meeting a few days before the departure date, we discussed trip logistics and outlined our schedule. The plan: Arrive in New York by May 25 to pick up the steel, stay until May 26 for a fireboat christening and make various stops along the way home. We decided that we wanted to tow a trailer so the steel would be visible everywhere we went. Also, to show our respect to those who lost their lives on 9/11, we decided to drape an American flag over the steel.

The Journey Begins
On May 22, Cooper, McCoy, Watson and I met with media personnel and then loaded the truck. The plan was to drive straight to New York, only stopping for gas and food.

The tech guy for our department installed Wi-Fi and other gizmos to help us navigate. We also wanted to use our department’s Facebook page to update anyone who was interested in following our progress. And with a simple GPS “LoJack”-type system, we were able to allow people to do just that. It became entertaining because anyone could see how fast we were moving. I got multiple phone calls throughout the trip from people asking why we were going 0 mph (while we were filling up the gas tank or taking a pit stop, of course).

The Reality Sinks In
When we made it to Idaho, I remember the gravity of the trip really sinking in for me. Here I am driving across the country to pick up a piece of steel that represents the loss of so many lives–and not only the lives lost on 9/11 but also all the lives lost fighting the War on Terror. We would be bringing world history back to the West Coast. Having the steel in our community would give anyone who lives there or passes through it the opportunity to learn about or remember that day.

Crossing 7 States
By the morning of May 24, we had driven through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and were well into Ohio.

This was also the day that I began to work on an idea that my Battalion Chief (Todd Meyer) and I had come up with before we left. We found out that Kress has family in Ohio, and we felt that we could honor the work he had done to set up the trip–as well as the work he was currently doing overseas–by stopping at his parents’ house with the steel on our journey home. The plan was to surprise Kress with pictures of his family and the steel.

At this point of the trip, a lot of things began falling in place for us. Kress’ mom had organized a get-together for our stop in Ohio; we had received word that a ceremony back home was beginning to take shape; and we learned that we had a place to stay in New York. We had been in touch with Guy Cashman of SAFE Boats International (based out of Bremerton, Wash.) who was in New York at Marine House 6, working on NYFD’s new fireboat “Bravest.” He let us know that we could stay at Marine House 6 on May 25.

Additionally, we continued to keep people at home updated on the trip through Facebook posts and e-mails. By the end of the trip, our department’s Facebook page had grown from 40 followers to 382. This was our department’s first big use of a social media site, and it ended up being a very helpful tool throughout the trip.

Visiting a 9/11 Memorial
While going through the last toll booth in Ohio, we learned of a 9/11 memorial nearby in Austintown, and decided to stop by. When we got there, I was blown away by how well done their memorial was. Not only did they have World Trade Center steel, but they had stones from the Pentagon, dirt from Shanksville, Pa., where Flight 93 crashed, granite stone heads with artwork on them, and walkways dedicated to police and fire that led to a garden. We felt truly blessed to have experienced this.

After leaving Austintown, we soldiered on to New York, reaching La Guardia Airport around midnight. We headed straight to bed for much needed rest.

Seeing the Steel
The morning of May 25, we got up early and headed out to JFK Hanger 17 where we were able to film and photograph the steel being lowered onto our trailer.

We were then invited to take a tour of the hanger, but were told we couldn’t take pictures of anything inside. I saw huge pieces of steel that had been nearly folded in half as well as steel that had been twisted into what seemed like impossible shapes. Later Lt. Cooper said to me, “The mere fact that I had my hands on a piece of the World Trade Center where the plane went through for me is just unimaginable and mind-boggling. I have looked at pictures of where the plane went into the tower and can see the piece that I touched. I just have a hard time trying to wrap my head around that very thought. It would be like having your hands on the torpedo hole that sank the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.”

After being shown the steel pieces, we were brought to a huge tent in the center of the hanger. Inside were a couple of taxis, a few police vehicles, a fire chief vehicle, two ladder trucks and two pumpers, all of which had been torn apart on 9/11. When our eyes fell on the devastated ladder trucks, the mood in the tent changed instantly. It was one of the most eye-opening and emotional experiences of the entire trip. It completely broke my heart to see a fire truck in this state. If there was any doubt about the importance of our trip, it disappeared after our tour of Hanger 17. I became overwhelmed with emotion after imagining something like this happening to my department.

Following this emotional portion of the tour, we walked back to the truck, where we performed the flag ceremony, took pictures and then loaded up and headed out.

Coming Unhitched
Only 100 yards outside of JFK, the trailer came unhitched from the back of the truck. Within five minutes, Port Authority Police pulled up and asked what was going on. When we went to the back of the truck, we noticed that the ball hitch that was on the truck looked too small for the trailer. Within 20 minutes, we had multiple Port Authority and NYPD police, as well as JFK maintenance employees, working to find us the correct size ball hitch. Once they found the one, they put the new hitch on and then lifted and walked the trailer back onto the hitch. After the trailer was hooked back up, the Port Authority escorted us to Brooklyn.

The FDNY Tour Begins
Upon arriving at Marine House 6 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, we met up with Cashman and Mat Johnson from SAFE Boats. They gave us tours of FDNY’s boats, “Firefighter” and “Bravest.” They then escorted us into Marine House 6 to take a look around and meet the guys.

We were introduced to Lt. Pete Pastore (aka Sal), who was asked to watch over us. Sal showed us around the station and made plans to take us to Ground Zero and “Ten House”–the station directly across from Ground Zero that houses Ladder 10 and Engine 10. The outstanding customer service and hospitality Sal showed us was something that I could only hope to replicate in my fire district.

Visiting Ground Zero
Ground Zero was not what I expected. The entire site is surrounded by fencing and construction equipment. There are signs around the outside that show what the site will look like when the project is finished. Even though we could not go into the site, I still had a somber feeling about being there.

Sal told me the story of when he first arrived at the site of the World Trade Center after 9/11. He was a newly promoted lieutenant at the time, and when he got there, he didn’t recognize anything. He was standing in front of Firehouse 10 and didn’t know it. Everything was covered in dust and materials from the towers. It was very easy to get disoriented.

The guys at Ten House welcomed us in and showed us around their house. We talked with them about our trip and what we were planning, and they were very thankful and humbled that we wanted to honor 9/11. They had a memorial built into their apparatus bay honoring the firefighters and the truck they lost on 9/11.

After we left Ten House and Ground Zero, Sal drove us around New York and then back to Marine House 6 for dinner. The guys there had cooked dinner and invited us to sleep at the house–more amazing hospitality.

Christening “Bravest”
The following day, May 26, was the fireboat christening. By noon we were on “Bravest,” and were even given permission to ride the boat over to the ceremony.

The ceremony itself included multiple speeches from FDNY chiefs and SAFE Boat representatives. It also included a fire department choir, the bottle-smashing ceremony, tours of the boat, lots of food and drinks, and a water show in the harbor to top it all off. Around 300 people were in attendance. When the ceremony was over, we returned to Marine House 6 to pack up the truck and say goodbye to Sal and the guys. We departed New York City around 7:30 p.m.

Flight 93 Memorial Site
We reached the Flight 93 memorial at about 3 a.m. the next morning. The gate to the site was closed, so we decided to sleep in the truck. We woke up at 6:30 a.m., drove to the site and paid our respects. It was almost unbelievable to imagine what happened leading up to that crash.

This was the point in the journey when we had planned to do our first flag ceremony where we change out the flag that covered the steel. Before beginning the ceremony, we met a family that had come to see the crash site, so we told them about the steel and invited them to watch the ceremony. Watson and I performed the flag ceremony by uncovering the steel and folding the flag. Once the family and a few others had seen the steel, we finished the ceremony by covering it with a new flag.

Special Moments with the Kress Family
We left the Flight 93 site with our eyes set on Troy, Ohio, to meet Kress’ parents. As we pulled up to the house, a small crowd was waiting for us outside. We disembarked the truck and met with Kress’ mom, dad and stepdad–Joyce, Randy and Gordon, respectively–before performing a flag ceremony. Lt. Cooper presented the flag to Kress’ mother. We had decided to give her one of the flags, as Kress hadn’t been able to participate in this incredible journey that he had started. It was difficult to stay composed when she began to cry. Of course, we knew that this was certainly one of the better reasons for presenting someone with a folded flag.

After the ceremony, everyone had lots of questions for us about the steel and our journey. McCoy met a dentist who had been to the World Trade Center, identifying the dead using their teeth. I met a man who was asked by one of the hijackers to teach him how to fly. He had declined; however, one of his friends ended up putting him through flight school.

We had dinner with Joyce and Gordon, talking about the trip and future plans for a memorial. We soon said our goodbyes and got back on the road.

A Quiet Ceremony in Iowa
The following day, we had made it most of the way across Iowa and then decided to do our next flag ceremony. We let Watson drive to what he thought would be a good location, as this flag was going to be his. He drove onto a dirt farm road where we saw a barn and farmhouse. Lt. Cooper met the homeowner whom he asked permission to do the ceremony and take pictures. This was the only ceremony we would do without a crowd of people watching.

We jumped back on the highway and kept heading through Iowa, with the goal of reaching Rapid City, S.D., before we called it a night. We didn’t quite make it, ending up in Murdo, S.D., instead. This was our last night in a bed before our big push to Washington.

Humbling Picture
Early the next morning, we headed out for Mount Rushmore. The weather there was not very good. It was foggy and raining so we couldn’t see the monument at all. What was cool: all the people who had driven there to see Mount Rushmore but instead got to see a piece of 9/11 history. We performed a flag ceremony at the entrance to the monument that attracted a crowd. We could hear parents telling their kids what happened that day and how it changed the country. When we looked at the pictures we had taken of us covering the steel, we saw a veteran saluting the flag in the background. It was a very humbling picture and a great reminder of why we were on this journey.

Following a big push from South Dakota, we pulled into North Bend, Wash.–about one hour east of Gig Harbor– around 10 a.m. Here we were greeted by members of Eastside Fire and Rescue. They opened one of their fire stations, and let us rest while we waited for the 12 p.m. meet up.

Coming Home to Gig Harbor
While we were gone, a group of people in our fire department worked on a ceremony that would include an escort from North Bend into Gig Harbor. By the time we arrived in North Bend, we learned that the arrival ceremony was going to be quite big. There had been a public announcement and invite, and there would be news media, pipes and drums, speakers, Honor Guard, Kress’ National Guard unit and members of our own department in full formal uniform. We were scheduled to be escorted by multiple law enforcement agencies from the moment we got onto I-5 in our county all the way to our headquarters.

As we traveled along I-5, local fire department personnel were positioned on every overpass to salute us as we drove by.

Once we arrived in Gig Harbor, we pulled off the road to do our final flag ceremony before arriving at headquarters. Law enforcement officers, department members, citizens and even the Patriot Guard were present for this ceremony–our biggest crowd. We uncovered the steel and immediately re-covered it with the ceremony flag that was to be removed and presented to our chief upon our arrival.

Once the flag was secured to the steel, we were back on the road toward headquarters. We winded our way through town and up the hill to the ceremony. We soon came upon a pathway of fire department members saluting us and a crowd of approximately 500 people.

Upon arriving at headquarters, we dismounted the truck and took our seats on the stage for the ceremony. One of our battalion chiefs, Todd Meyer (a FireRescue magazine columnist), ran the ceremony. Speeches were given by our department chaplain, by Chief John Burgess and Lt. Cooper.

After the ceremony, we finally were able to meet up with our families and socialize with everyone. It took about two hours to talk with the media and then remove our belongings from the truck.

Final Thoughts on an Amazing Journey
This was truly an amazing and humbling experience. I felt like it started out as a mission to get a piece of steel and turned into so much more. The trip became a true “journey,” and our travels became a way for us to connect different people from across the country with a piece of our history. Now it’s up to us to create a memorial that will honor those who died on 9/11, to teach people about our history and to honor the phrase “Never Forget.”