Arizona was more than 2,000 miles away from the location of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but several cities around the state have permanent memorials honoring the victims.
In most cases, those memorials feature sections of the World Trade Center.
Nearly 3,000 people died in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania as a result of the attacks. In their aftermath, many around the U.S. sent aid in the form of first responders, packages and more.
The tragic event on Sept. 11 has left a clear and unforgettable memory for those who remember.
For many cities, the memorials are a way to connect with the tremendous loss experienced that day and as a reminder of those who lost their lives and those who helped in the aftermath.
Making an impact in a small town
Dee Rodriguez, a resident and former council woman of Winslow, remembers all too well the trauma of that day.
Rodriguez said she remembered waking up on that morning when she saw on TV the horrifying images coming from New York. She felt an overwhelming vulnerability for her country and her home.
“It was kind of like everything that was scary and it felt to helpless. I remember not one airplane in the sky on that day. It was spooky and scary. It was like everything stopped and nothing was moving. Everyone was crying,” Rodriguez said.
A year after the attack, Rodriguez said she was watching TV with her husband, the news broadcast covered the ground zero debris and she remembered a man on TV say that anyone could get a piece from the World Trade Center. From that point, she was determined to bring pieces of the building to the small town of Winslow.
She was able to speak with the Waste Management company in Staten Island
through the Waste Management in Winslow. She was then able to speak with a secretary from the site and was able to order a 16-foot and 14-foot beam pillar.
But she ran into a roadblock as they could not deliver to Arizona and that she would have to pick up the pillars herself.
With no money to do it by herself or within the city’s budget, Rodriguez said she quickly networked within the city.
Rodriguez then reached out to the Santa Fe Railroad, which operates in Winslow. She was able to get the train to pick up the pillars in New York in a week’s time. This would not be enough time as the anniversary of the event was coming far too soon.
She then asked a friend to reach out to the city’s Walmarts to see what they could do to help. He came back to her with the news that a trucker would leave in the morning to pick up the beams.
“It was like it was supposed to happen. Where there’s a will there’s a way” Rodriguez said.
A team of Walmart drivers left Buckeye, drove nonstop to New York, arrived late in the day as the yard closed for the night, the team was taken to a ball game and in the morning, loaded up the cargo. Upon arriving back in Winslow in the early morning hours, news of the beams’ arrival caused a stir of overwrought emotion and patriotism.
“We were later told we couldn’t do that on Route 66, but we did it anyway,” Rodriguez said while laughing.
After the parade, she and her colleagues were headed into a diner when a man approached them asking about where the beams would be placed. He asked them if he could put up the beams for the city. He along with help from the city, state and county, was able to setup the pillar site in time for the first anniversary of 9/11.
The cost for all of her work to bring these pillars to Winslow, not a dime was spent.
“That evening at 7 pm over 5,000 folks, and 123 first responder agencies had representatives from the Four Corners area and California present to dedicate the monument. A color guard of 67 agencies passed the Flag of our Great Nation flown in by helicopter to the monument with solemn dignity and honor to the point of staffing on a lone flagpole between the newly erected edifice. Since the erection of the original monument, we outgrew the site and moved the pieces into a new and permanent location 900 feet away to the City of Winslow 9-11 Remembrance and Reflection Garden. We have continued to honor the memory of those of 9-11-2001 and have kept our promise to ‘Never Forget,’” Kenn Evans a local Park Ranger said.
The city of Winslow is not the only one with a piece from the World Trade center.
Scattered pieces throughout the Valley
The city of Surprise also has a piece from the towers. The piece is enclosed in a 360-degree glass case with twisted steel from the building, as well as names of all public safety personnel killed in the attacks etched in glass.
The memorial is at Surprise’s Public Safety Building, 14250 W. Statler Plaza.
After initially being on display on a stand for several years, in 2011, a group of public safety members decided to create an almost 7-foot memorial out of the piece, allowing the piece to be viewed in a 360-degree view.
“For the dedicated members of our police and fire-medial departments, it is a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice paid by many who also took an oath to serve. For the city as a whole, we look to the top of the memorial as a reminder of this promise: ‘We will never forget.’ The memorial is on permanent public display inside City Hall and can be seen Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., excluding holidays,” the city said in an email.
The city of Gilbert also is home to a piece of history with there 9/11 Memorial. A portion of a beam from North Tower of the World Trade Center rests at Gilbert’s 9/11 Memorial Plaza.
The site was unveiled in 2011, with the inclusion of a 8-foot steel girder that rests on a pentagon shape. Four granite walls surround the beam, with names of those who lost there lives. This also includes benches for those looking to sit and reflect. The bricks on the ground of the site are filled with messages from donors to the memorial.
This outdoor memorial is open to the public any time, day or night. The 9/11 Memorial Plaza is at 50 E. Civic Center Drive.
This year the memorial ceremony kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 11. Gilbert Fire and Rescue will be joined with the Gilbert Police Department to pay tribute to the brave first responders who lost there lives 22 years ago.
The ceremony will be followed by a Tribute in Light, which will project two beams in the sky in commemoration from 7:30-9:30 P.M.
Gilbert’s water tower will also pay tribute by illuminating the patriotic colors of red, white and blue.
The city of Glendale also houses a piece of beam at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center. They have flag along with the names of victims and a portion of an I beam.
The city of Phoenix also has piece of debris from one of the towers.
Frank Espinoza is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University from the beginning of 2022. He prides himself on covering topics that give a spotlight to individuals or groups who give back to the community. He has covered local sports, community events, and important issues that impact the state. In his spare time, he loves to watch Street League Skateboarding and hang out at Cowtown Skateboards in Goodyear.
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