Cross-shaped steel debris from WTC North Tower to be Memorial

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In what is a less controversial rememberance of those that died, and those who risked and gave their lives in the aftermath of 911, a flag draped, cross of the steel debris from the North Tower is traveling via motorcade to it’s new memorial home in Shanksville, PA… about 1.5 miles from the embattled Flight 93 National Memorial.

Retired firefighter Pat Concannon, owner of an excavating business involved in the WTC rescue efforts, pulled the cross shaped debris from the wreckage.


Retired Lieut. Paddy Concannon of the Family Transport Service
for the FDNY stands beside the cross.
Both photos courtesy of The Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company

The Fire Family Transport Foundation is a nonprofit that provides transportation to families of injured or deceased members of the Fire Department of New York.

Mr. Concannon provided the cross to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company, who will erect the Memorial upon it’s arrival tomorrow evening. It will sit in a base of concrete shaped like the Pentagon.


L-R Shanksville Captain Sean Daniels, New Enterprise Concrete Mark Marteeny, Shanksville Fire Chief Terry Shaffer and FDNY firefighters Steve Collins, Paddy Concannon, Bobby Fraumeni, Kevin Mullee and Ben Reonegro helped pour the Pentagon shaped footer.

The cross has a motorcycle motorcade for the 311 miles, made up of participants of the Iron and Steel Motorcycle Run, a benefit run that not only acts as a honor guard, but with proceeds to benefit the Foundation

You can read the Star-Ledger story here.

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This is a much more appropriate memorial. The official one offends on so many levels. Something less mentioned than the obvious crescent shape, # of blocks…. is the wind chimes. To me, wind blown items do not honor people who made very deliberate choices. That’s not wind blown at all. This, steel debris, shape of cross, does honor the crew and passengers’ choice to resist. I applaud all those involved.

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Is that the same cross as this one?

I saw we erect crosses all around the periphery of the Flight 93 Memorial. And make sure they don’t point to Mecca either.

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I don’t know, Mike’sA. I tried tracking down the Newsday story from where this pick came from. But around the same time, according to an Oct 5th NYTs story, another cross was found by Frank Silecchia, a construction worker. According to the story about that cross.. apparently the same you one depicted (see below 2nd story):

One year ago, the cross was mounted at the corner of West and Vesey Streets, and it was later moved to the southeast corner of the site along Church Street.

The Rev. Brian J. Jordan, a Franciscan priest, used it for months as a gathering place to celebrate Sunday Mass for ground zero workers and family members. The Associated Press reported today that Father Jordan, with help from family members, union workers, police officers and firefighters, had already collected more than 50,000 signatures on petitions to keep the cross as part of the permanent ground zero memorial. But the use of the cross at ground zero drew complaints from some people who noted that people of non-Christian religions had also died in the attacks.

The cross in the post was donated by an Albany museum… and found by Lt. Paddy. One has to wonder where the other crosses went, because I’ll bet they are all standing in some memorial somewhere.

Would be interesting to find them all, and each of their treks to their final resting place.

I did find this site that has a 2nd tale of the cross you pictured. Go to site to view images But it doesn’t appear to be the same one as Lt. Paddy’s.

Subsequent to the NY Post story below, we located a photograph of one of the original crosses found on the top of the rubble (image above). It is the same cross used in the October 4th memorial ceremony with the New York City Fire Department. The cross of steel beams was blessed at Ground Zero on the northwestern side of the World Trade Center
attack site. The cross was found by a laborer at the site two days after the twin towers’ collapsed and later moved to its present location. Father Brian Jordan blessed the cross. The cross was from World Trade Tower One, and was found in World Trade Building Six, and then moved to the October 4, 2001 location. (Click on the photographs for larger images.)

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There were a good many crosses fashioned from World Trade Center steel; the one pictured in the comment above was moved to another spot nearby to make may for construction while the museum makes a final decision of what to do with it.

I spoke with Paddy Concannon Saturday, the cross given to the Shanksville VFC was one of the three remaining within the Fire Fighters Transport Foundation’s possession. A college (that I will not name) was originally scheduled to receive it yet dragged its feet. Paddy went looking for a suitable recipeint, thought of the Shanksville VFC, and one call to Chief Terry Shaffer sealed the deal. It took a year to put together the fund raiser ride (the FFTF provides medical transport to firefighters, family members of firefighter, and wounded warriors in and near NYC).

We were there Saturday and Sunday. You can click on the link associated with my name to read more.

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Sergeant Tim, *Thank you* for the link and the photos. Let me post the direct link to Sgt. Tim’s post on 911 Families for America.

PLUS a couple of photos to entice you to go read Tim’s account of the arrival of the cross.

And of course, I *have* to put this one in. Not only one of my favorite sites and sounds, but I am wistful and envious… This is one run I would have liked to have been part of. But alas… I am on the other side of the nation.

This one below brought tears to my eyes! You really must read Tim’s post.

And thank you again for catching us up here!

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This story and your comment deserved it’s own update post, Sgt. Tim…. So that’s what I did!

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