9/11 memorial unveiled at Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue

MANATEE -- Now it’s hallowed ground.

The entrance to Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District took on solemn significance Saturday with the unveiling of a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Crafted from a 12-foot, two-ton I beam salvaged from ground zero at the World Trade Center, and more than a year in the works, the memorial has elements representing the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa.

In all, nearly 3,000 innocent victims died after extremists hijacked four airliners.

At the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, retired New York Fire Department firefighter Jerry Hanley stood at the side of a fire truck and pulled the levers on a ladder from which was suspended a huge American flag.

The ladder lifted the flag to reveal the memorial to a crowd that packed the fire administration building.

Hanley, whose firefighter son Sean died in the World Trade Center, delivered just a few, heart-felt words to the crowd.

“Good morning family. You’re all my family,” he said.

Garrett Lindgren, another retired New York firefighter, was the guest speaker.

In addition to those who died in the attacks, more than 1,000 first responders, volunteers and construction workers have died from exposure to toxic materials at the World Trade Center crash site, he said.

Many more continue to suffer from health problems and post traumatic stress syndrome, Lindgren said.

“My family has had a pretty tough ride,” Lindgren said. The tremendous loss of life changed him.

“I was not the same person who went to work before that happened,” he said.

As a survivor and first responder, Lindgren said he was honored to be asked to speak at the dedication and asked that Americans never forget.

Chaplain Richard Kirby expressed a similar sentiment in his prayer.

“As we dedicate this piece of steel, may a little bit of steel be installed in every firefighter,” Kirby prayed.

The memorial at Southern Manatee is one of 1,200 pieces of steel from the World Trade Center that have been acquired by communities around the country to commemorate 9/11, Battalion Chief Rick Blanco said.

The scars on the steel and the knowledge of where it came from helps to “inspire the heart and rekindle the mind,” Blanco said.

Firefighter Ryan Kaliher originally proposed requesting a piece of steel from the New York Port Authority for a local memorial.

In July 2010, Kaliher and three others -- former fire commissioner Brad Ranney, architect Dallas Leitner who designed the memorial, and Bradley Ranney -- drove to New York to pick up the beam.

As they returned to Bradenton, they received police, firefighter and motorcycle escorts along the way. The public caught their first glimpse of the beam in the back of an enclosed trailer when the team came home to Firkin & Fox Restaurant.

Some just wanted to touch the beam, and others cried when they saw it.

All Phases Welding of Palmetto was given the job of cutting the beam in two to represent the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

“The beam has been with me 24-7 since we obtained it,” said Bradley Ranney.

Even so, Ranney said the final results exceeded his expectations.

“It’s amazing,” he said.

Battalion Chief Herb Smith, who thanked all those who helped, said the memorial succeeds in incorporating all elements of 9/11 from the World Trade Center, to the Pentagon and Shanksville.

Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District is at. 2451 Trailmate Drive E.

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee editor, can be contacted at 745-7021.

This story was originally published September 4, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "9/11 memorial unveiled at Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue."