Angola gets ready for 9/11 beam, 15,000 motorcycles

ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) - Over 15,000 motorcyclists are expected to gather in Angola on July 1 as a memorial beam from the World Trade Center travels through the area.

An Angola Fire Department spokesman said the 8-foot beam will be at the old Scott's parking lot from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. All county public safety agencies have been invited to have a unit on display.

The following day, Saturday, July 2, beginning at 6:30 a.m., bikers will gather at the old Scott’s parking lot to get ready to escort the beam to its next stop in Elkhart.

When the group leaves Angola at at 10:28 a.m., the motorcyclists will go up State Road 127 to State Road 120 and then west on 120 through Orland. Police officers will block the intersections that have stop lights and stop signs so the line of bikes will be a continuous

Extraordinary pictures of 9/11 relics revealed as they are shipped across world for tenth anniversary memorials

Draped in American flags and handled with reverence, these are the relics pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
They have been stored in Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy Airport since the recovery operation was completed, and are now being shipped across the world for towns and cities to construct memorials in time for the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
Firefighters from across the U.S. are making a pilgrimage to New York to collect the relics, which were today revealed in a set of extraordinary images.

The photographs of twisted heavy steel, tattered uniforms and even a smashed-up fire truck reveal with terrible poignancy the full devastation of the terrorist attacks.
Organised by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center steel program aims to distribute the relics to firehouses and museums across America.
Some will go even further afield, with tags showing they are destined for memorials as far away as the UK and China.
Bill Baroni, the Port Authority's deputy executive director, told the Boston Herald: 'This is a sacred mission for this agency - to not only rebuild the World Trade Center site, but also make sure that at memorials to 9/11 all across the country, people would be able to, whether in Bergen County, New Jersey, or St. Louis, Missouri ... see what happened that day.

FULL STORY WITH MORE PHOTOS HEREhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004961/9-11-relics-shipped-world-10th-anniversary-memorials.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

9/11 Beam To Be Installed At Firefighters Memorial Friday

Fire-Rescue-EMS Battalion Chief Dan Huppe with a beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. The beam is to be installed Friday in the Manchester Firefighters Memorial Garden on Tolland Turnpike. (Jesse Leavenworth\The Hartford Courant / June 21, 2011)


2:13 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2011
MANCHESTER ——
On Friday morning, local firefighters plan to install a steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center at the Manchester Firefighters Memorial Garden on Tolland Turnpike.

A concrete base has been prepared to hold the approximately 9 1/2-foot-tall column from the North Tower, which is to be lighted perpetually. Fire officials said the installation, on the grounds of Station No. 5, is slated for 8-10 a.m.

http://www.courant.com/community/manchester/hc-manchester-911-beam-install-0622-220110621,0,5188308.story

Giant 9/11 commemorative flag to fly in Portland

PORTLAND — A giant American flag will be in Portland Thursday, part of a 50-state tour before it is displayed in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., as part of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.



Local firefighters and police will raise the 30-foot by 57-foot flag at 2 p.m., hoisting it between two fire department aerial ladders at the Preble Street Extension parking lot, and lower it at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend and sign the logbook at the Back Cove event.


http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-portland-911-flag.html

9-11 Memorial takes shape as the clock ticks down

NEW YORK — It’s close to two months to go and counting down.

Construction at the World Trade Center site is at a frenzied, round the clock pace that could be best described as controlled chaos. But it is chaos with a purpose and a very public deadline, which Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials pledge they will meet.
The site will be the focus of world wide attention, along with Pennsylvania and Virginia, on Sept. 11 for the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Port Authority Deputy Director Bill Baroni knows this and sounds almost like British prime minster Winston Churchill during World War II in his resolve. During a tour of the massive construction site Monday, he repeats it like a mantra, talking about the focus, the challenge and the mission, to have the Memorial Plaza completed for the tenth anniversary of the day that changed the world.
“We will hit that deadline,” Baroni said as the sound of construction clattered around him. “It is the sacred mission of this agency.”


http://www.app.com/article/20110620/NJNEWS/306200082/9-11-Memorial-takes-shape-as-the-clock-ticks-down

Military Channel Pays Tribute to U.S. Troops and Elite Forces With the 2011 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PA

On the heels of a national victory in the war against terrorism and in honor of the approaching 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Military Channel joins nearly 300,000 Americans as they rally behind our troops at the American Veterans Center's 2011 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE in Washington, DC. During the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, countless servicemen and -women made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and this year, thanks to the heroic actions of the Navy SEALs and other elite military forces, we focus more than ever on the true meaning of Memorial Day: honoring those who have fought bravely in defense of America's freedom and that of people around the world. THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE will air live on Monday, May 30 from 2-4 PM ET on the Military Channel.

"In a day and age when more and more of small town America opts to cancel local festivities, THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE remains not only the country's largest Memorial Day celebration, but a beacon of patriotic spirit reminding us that this day holds real significance for the men and women it intends to honor," said James C. Roberts, president of the American Veterans Center, the non-profit educational organization that founded the parade and is dedicated year-round to preserving and promoting the legacy of America's troops.

"It has never been more crucial for us to pause and thank veterans and active duty service members who have fought to preserve every American's liberties. Military Channel's live coverage of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE provides a new opportunity for America to recognize its greatest heroes and memorialize those who have fallen in service to their country," said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Military Channel and Investigation Discovery.

As America approaches the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE will devote a very special segment to remembering the heroes of that day. The parade will also include a tribute to the Special Operations tactical teams that are currently leading the fight in Afghanistan, a commemoration of the Centennial of Naval Aviation, and recognitions of the 70th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War II and the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War. Special guests will include musical performers, celebrity veterans and supporters of the military, including Pat Sajak, Gary Sinise, Buzz Aldrin, and Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan. Hosts Major Garrett, Leeann Tweeden and Alyse Zwickwill call the action of THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE for Military Channel's viewers. Additionally school marching bands from across the country and military bands will provide patriotic music throughout the parade as they march through the streets of our nation's capital.

For more than 70 years, our nation's capital was without a parade on the Armed Services' most sacred day. In 2005, the American Veterans Center brought this tradition back to Washington by creating THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE. For additional information, please visit www.nationalmemorialdayparade.com.

9/11 A Decade Later: Flight 93 Memorial Draws 1.4M Visitors To Rural PA

The National September 11th Memorial in Lower Manhattan that is set to open this September has been in the center of many high-profile contentious debates, but another important September 11th memorial in Pennsylvania is in the works. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

In Somerset County, Pennsylvania stands a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center, which reminds onlookers of the connection the small town of Shanksville has with the events of September 11, 2001.



A cross in Shankville made of steel from the World Trade Center. A field in the town is where United Flight 93 crashed after passengers battled hijackers for control of the plane. All 40 passengers and crew members were killed after the hijackers deliberately crashed the plane.

“When the plane crashed here, it was only 15 minutes by air to Washington, D.C.,” says Flight 93 Site Manager Jeff Reinbold.

Reinbold's mission is to create a fitting national memorial on the 2,000-acre field.

“We felt very strongly that this design needed to be about this place and that this place was very different that New York or Washington, D.C.," says Reinbold.

Though only a temporary memorial exists now, longtime site volunteer Marlin Miller says it has not stopped over 1.4 million people from visiting.

“It’s been a sense of honor that we are able to extend hospitality, and to volunteer and to welcome people,” says Miller.



A plan for the Flight 93 Memorial. Click to enlarge. When the $60 million first phase of the memorial is complete this September, visitors will be able walk along the flight path and read the names of the 40 victims inscribed on marble walls.

“The remains of the passengers and crew are still here. They are on site," says Reinbold. “We treat the crash site as a cemetery that’s not open to the public, but the public will have the chance to get right up against the edge of it.”

Eventually, the Flight 93 National Memorial will also feature a visitors and education center, memorial groves and a 93-feet-tall tower to honor the victims killed that day.

The project is expected to be complete in 2014.