World Trade Center And Pentagon Artifacts Offer Oregonians A Place To Remember Those Lost
Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the nation, Oregonians will have an opportunity to see pieces of that history firsthand.
The Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem will open its permanent Sept. 11 Memorial to the public Friday, Sept. 11, giving visitors an opportunity to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 attacks and the first responders who rushed toward danger that day.
The memorial contains artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center and Pentagon, bringing tangible reminders of the attacks to Oregon.
Among the pieces on display is a structural beam from the base of the World Trade Center’s North Tower and another floor beam believed to have come from either 5 or 6 World Trade Center.
Visitors can also see a smaller floor beam recovered from above the 50th floor of one of the Twin Towers, part of the towers’ mechanical support system and a section of aluminum from the exterior of one of the buildings.
Another artifact comes from the Pentagon — a section of its limestone façade recovered near the location where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building.
The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Among those who died that day were hundreds of firefighters, law enforcement officers and military personnel. In the years since, additional first responders and recovery workers have died from illnesses associated with their work at Ground Zero.
For those who lived through Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary provides another opportunity to remember a day that remains vivid in the nation’s collective memory.
For younger Oregonians who were born after the attacks, the memorial provides something different — an opportunity to see physical pieces of the places they have primarily encountered through history lessons, photographs and video.
The artifacts are accompanied by a video tribute and a painting by artist Ricardo Salazar depicting the attacks. Flags representing New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania are also displayed in recognition of the locations where lives were lost.
The academy grounds contain two other memorials honoring public safety professionals who died while serving Oregon.
The Oregon Law Enforcement Memorial recognizes 199 officers who have died in the line of duty dating back to the 1860s. The Oregon Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial honors 185 members of the fire service who have died since 1881.
The Sept. 11 Memorial will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at the Oregon Public Safety Academy, 4190 Aumsville Highway SE in Salem. Signs at the academy will direct visitors to the main entrance, where the memorial is located in the lobby.
A quarter-century after the attacks, the pieces of steel, stone and aluminum preserved at the academy serve not only as reminders of what was lost, but also of the courage of those who responded and the responsibility of future generations to remember.
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