Cheyenne Mountain receives 9/11 artifact

  • Published
  • By Monica Mendoza
  • 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. (AFNS) --  A steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center arrived here Nov. 19 to be built into a memorial to commemorate the people who died Sept. 11, 2001.

About 100 servicemembers and civilians gathered for the arrival of the beam, which was released by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials to the National Homeland Defense Foundation and then presented to officials at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.

A 9/11 memorial, which is set to include a base for the steel beam, is being designed now by a four-member student team from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and is expected to be officially unveiled at Cheyenne Mountain AFS in September 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attack.

"Albert Einstein observed years ago that the world is a dangerous place, (and) the events of 9/11 really brought that to the forefront for a lot of folks who didn't realize it," said Col. Rusty Wilson, the 721st Mission Support Group commander. "This memorial will remind all of those who work inside the mountain of the importance of their day-to-day work supporting critical strategic missions which protect our nation, North America, and our way of life.

"It is also a tangible reminder to all of us that the world is a dangerous place," he said. "There are evil people out there wishing to do us harm. It is our solemn responsibility to honor those that have gone in harm's way and, in some cases, given all."

All five military installations in the Colorado Springs area have been given a piece of the World Trade Center to display. There is a memorial at Fort Carson and one on Peterson Air Force Base. Memorials at Schriever AFB and the U.S. Air Force Academy are also underway.

"It's been very touching to me personally to see the respect and reverence that has been demonstrated by the people in our community and by the military installations," said Don Addy, the president and CEO of the National Homeland Defense Foundation.

Through the foundation, Mr. Addy worked to secure the five pieces from the World Trade Center. The foundation and other donors paid for the transport of the pieces to Colorado Springs.

"(Cheyenne Mountain AFS) was a very important installation on that day," Mr. Addy said. "To have a piece of that (World Trade Center) building now here on exhibit to remind the people who work here of the importance of this facility, to me, is very gratifying."

Airmen with the 721st Civil Engineer Division are working with the UCCS students on the guidelines for the memorial, but Colonel Wilson wants the students to be as creative as possible in the design, said Tyler Nielsen, a 721st CED engineer.

The four-person design team is already working on ideas, said Andrew West, the UCCS student design team leader.

"The biggest appeal for all of us is the creativity involved in a project like this," Mr. West said. "The biggest thing we want to incorporate is the sentiment behind the piece and what this represents."

The rusted steel beam already is steeped in emotion, said Bill Barbuto, a retired fire chief with the New York City Fire Department, who attended the arrival ceremony. He was already retired and had moved out of New York when the World Trade Center was attacked.

He flew in one week later "to attend funerals, that is what I did, went from one to the other," he said.

Mr. Barbuto said it was an emotional experience to see the beam roll up at Cheyenne Mountain AFS.

"A lot of my friends died," he said. "It was an incredible event in history, not one to be repeated, I hope."