Published: August 24, 2008 06:37 pm      

WTC-steel cross arrives at Flight 93 crash site

SHANKSVILLE – Even the toughest motorcycle riders had tears in their eyes.

As 12-year-old Matthew Barndt of Somerset sang a tribute to the fallen New York City firefighters, emotions welled at Sunday’s dedication of a cross forged from steel from the World Trade Center.

The cross, etched with the numbers “9-11-01” and emblazoned with a bronze plaque reading “Never Forget,” was placed on a hill beside the Shanksville fire hall.

“You can’t even express it,” said Donnie Maher, president of the Fire Riders Motorcycle Club, a group of New York City firefighters past and present who escorted the cross to Shanksville. “I had tears in my eyes.”

A lone voice in the crowd yelled “Let’s roll” after the ceremony, echoing the immortal words of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer as passengers stormed the cockpit in an effort that prompted the hijackers to crash the plane in a reclaimed strip mine near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001.

The steel for the cross came from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, said retired Lt. Paddy Concannon of the New York City Fire Department.

“We wanted to find a home for this steel – somewhere special, somewhere that felt the pain, somewhere that had a common experience, as bad as it may be,” Concannon said.

That somewhere is Shanksville.

“This is from our heart, and it’s from New York to Shanksville,” Concannon added.

Shanksville fire Chief Terry Shaffer said the cross will serve as a constant reminder of the bravery of New York firefighters who gave their lives to save others that day.

“Every time we get a call and see that over there, you just have to remember what these guys sacrificed on 9/11,” Shaffer said.

As a crowd of about 400 stood in the parking lot outside the fire hall, bagpipers from the New York City Fire Department led the processional.

Along with Barndt, Dan Conner of Rockwood moved the crowd with renditions of “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless the U.S.A.”

About 140 firefighters from New York made the trip, including about 90 Fire Riders.

Near the end of the ceremony, five New York firefighters read the names of the passengers and crew of Flight 93.

All said they felt a special kinship with Shanksville.

“In a single word: Honor,” said Rich Snyder, the Fire Riders’ treasurer. “I grew up in a small community section of New York City. The closeness of people in town here reminds me of where I grew up.”

Through the sadness came hope.

“It is painful in some ways,” Concannon said. “But it’s good to be here with my guys.”