ROCKFORD — Tom Longo was still in bed on his 21st birthday — Sept. 11, 2001 — when his wife quickly awakened him from his sleep and turned his attention to the television.
He watched in astonishment as terrorist hijackers flew airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
“When she woke me up, I thought it was a movie she was showing me,” Longo said. “I could not believe it was happening. … I sat there kind of watching it, not saying anything.”
Longo, along with his wife, Jennifer, and two sons, Tommy, 10, and Drake, 4, came downtown Saturday afternoon for a special ceremony unveiling two pieces of steel from the World Trade Center.
The steel will be a part of the Winnebago County 9/11 Emergency Responders Memorial, which will be constructed near the county’s Criminal Justice Center on West State Street.
“This symbol means sacrifice, what a firefighter, a police officer an EMT would do to try to save somebody else,” said Rockford Fire Department Lt. Will Pederson, chairman of the memorial committee. “Emergency responders are willing to step up and do things that others won’t.”
Pederson, along with fire Lt. Kyle Hill, went to New York City to pick up the steel.
“I am just overwhelmed with how this whole thing has come together,” Pederson said. “This is a part of New York City coming here, and we are going to take care of it.”
The memorial will have sculptures of a firefighter, police officer and an EMT overlooking the steel beams, each about 7 feet long and about 1,000 pounds, Pederson said. It also will feature two 20-foot towers that will stand atop granite, representing the Pentagon. Forty trees will be planted, representing each passenger on United Flight 93 that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
Heather Weiss of Rockford helped escort the steel downtown Saturday with her husband’s motorcycle group. Fire and police agencies from throughout the county also helped lead a procession from the Clock Tower to the MetroCentre.
“I think this is awesome,” she said. “It brought back so many emotions for me from when it happened. It was really cool to be able to escort it down here.”
The memorial committee is working to raise $911,000 by the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, Pederson said. More information about the memorial and ways to donate can be found at
winnebago911memorial.org.
Reach staff writer Matt Williams at mwilliams@rrstar.com or 815-987-1389.
No comments:
Post a Comment