World Trade Center beam arrives in Urbana

The beam was escorted into the memorial park at the intersection of U.S. 68 and Ohio 55 and was greeted by about 150 area residents who stood in the rain to witness the dedication of a piece of history.

“It’s a living reminder of the price of freedom. Freedom is not free,” said Major General Francis Hazard, a member of the Urbana Rotary Club that helped form the memorial park after 9/11.

Freedom Grove is among dozens of memorials around the country using the structural remains of the WTC towers destroyed by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

The beam is one of about 1,000 pieces of wreckage made available this week by Kennedy International Airport’s Hanger 17, where debris from the towers is stored, Freedom Grove Committee members said.

The design of how the beam will be displayed in the park has yet to take shape.

But committee members are working to raise up to $30,000 from community donations to erect it by the 10th anniversary of the attacks this year.

Terry L. Rittenhouse said the beam will be the centerpiece in the six-acre park and will pay tribute to those who died in the attacks, including Graham High School grad and United Airlines Flight Attendant Alicia Nicole Titus.

“It’s truly a major piece,” said Rittenhouse, a member of the Freedom Grove Committee.

“It’s bent and twisted and burned and shows an extreme level of violence.

“And that’s what we wanted because it shows the violence they were subjected to.”

Titus’ aunt Brenda Johnson, 52, of Urbana, sobbed as she watched the beam escorted into the park.

She said the beam makes her feel closer to Titus.

“Now we have a place where we can come and sit. We didn’t get anything back so how do we know that some of her ashes aren’t on it.

“That’s how I look at it. It’s a place where I can come and feel like Alicia is somewhere close to me.”

Prosecutor Nick Salvaggio, who was key in bringing the beam to the area, said the piece will ensure residents never forget.

“It’s another opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices that our country has had to make to protect our freedom.”