Howard County to Unveil World Trade Center Steel Sunday

In a ceremony Sunday, Howard County officials will unveil a 96-pound piece of burned and twisted steel that was once a part of one of the twin towers, an artifact they plan to display across public sites as a tribute to 9/11.

County officials acquired the piece at no cost from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and have declined to make it available for public viewing until the unveiling ceremony, which will be held Sunday at from 8:30 to 9 a.m. (Editor's Note: Accompanying Patch photos show steel acquired by other cities.)

Superintendent of Recreation Services Phil Bryan applied for the piece for Howard County in 2009, and said it was delivered in December.

“You really get choked up when you see it,” he said. “To see that big piece of steel and how it’s charred and burned and twisted. ... I just thought it would be a ... good piece to have to reflect on 9/11.”

Pieces of the World Trade Center have been donated to communities across the United States.

According to The Guardian, steel from the World Trade Center has been used as public tributes to all 50 states as well as six countries.

In Maryland, Anne Arundel County has constructed a $120,000 monument in Millersville using two huge beams from the World Trade Center, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The way the monument was constructed, the beams seem to frame planes as they land at BWI Airport, according to the Sun.

In Baltimore, three twisted steel beams were set on a stone base with the names of the 68 people from Maryland who died in the attacks, a tribute known as the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland, according to The Washington Post.

In Howard County, the World Trade Center steel piece will circulate among public sites, including the George Howard Building, as well as the Firehouse Museum and different fire stations throughout the county, Bryan said.

Other activities planned for Sunday’s ceremony at Centennial Park include: a presentation of colors by the police/fire honor guard, a moment of silence to remember the four Howard County residents who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, and a procession to the “Garden of Hope,” where County Executive Ken Ulman will lay the traditional laurel wreath.  

The four Howard County residents who lost their lives in the attacks of 9/11 are: Master Sgt. Retired , from Laurel; , from Columbia; Col. , USA Ret., from Columbia; and Lieutenant Junior Grade (Lt. J.G.) Darin Pontell, from Columbia.

Right after the ceremony, the Howard County Police Foundation will hold a 5K and 1-mile run/walk.