WTC wreckage exhibit at new Forsyth public safety building
Exhibit in Forsyth County's new public safety building will let visitors touch the wreckage of the World Trade Center

By MARCIA LANGHENRY
Lifelessly cold, gritty and rough.

This chunk of metal weighing as much as a man is not a pretty thing, but already it has become the most precious possession of the Forsyth County Fire Department.
  
"It's just a piece of steel, but touch it and, oh, my gosh," said Chief Danny Bowman.

Unlike this 15-by-25-inch piece of scrap, some of the wreckage of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center was released early on by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cities, churches and other organizations have incorporated pieces of metal in memorials from Sacramento to Boston.

This piece of history, brought from New York to Cumming just before Christmas, came with even greater significance to firefighters.

The Port Authority allowed the Fire Department of New York to claim a small amount of scrap steel as its own, according to Lt. Brian Gary of Forsyth County.

The steel in Cumming is from FDNY's cache, and it's only the second piece that FDNY has given to an outside organization, said Gary, a fourth-generation New York City firefighter who has been with the Forsyth County department eight years. When Bowman suggested his idea for a 911 memorial in the foyer of the county's public safety building under construction on Settingdown Road, Gary put out the word to his New York colleagues.

It looked positive.

Bowman then wrote to

FDNY Chief Salvatore Cassano on Dec. 9, requesting the "sacred artifact."

"Should you approve," Bowman wrote, "the plan is to place the artifact on display where every person who enters our facility cannot escape its presence. To be able to experience this awesome piece of our heritage, would keep the supreme sacrifice of our brothers fresh in the memory of all who are honored to be in its presence."

The request was granted, and 10 days later Gary was on his way to pick it up.

Forsyth County's piece is a slice of an I-beam from which FDNY had already cut business card-size medallions to give to the survivors of the 343 FDNY firefighters who died in the attack and its aftermath.

"The biggest thing to them [FDNY] is that people from all walks of life get to touch it," Gary said.

When the Forsyth County Public Safety Center opens this spring, the memorial will be the first thing visitors see when they enter.

Expected to open in May, the center on Settingdown Road will house the sheriff's office, Fire Department, emergency management agency and 911 operation.

Plans for the memorial design are incomplete, but Bowman said it will be in place when the building is dedicated.

The steel may be set in Georgia marble with a bronze plaque explaining its origin, Capt. Jason Shivers said.

When Bowman told him the county had received the "important piece of history," County Manager Jeff Quesenberry said he gave immediate approval to integrate it into the new building.

"It will be an item of significance for generations to come for both residents and visitors alike," Quesenberry said.

The public will be able to view and touch the steel during regular business hours, Shivers said.

Video monitoring and card-key entry after hours will help secure the piece, he said.

For FDNY and for Bowman, the physical connection is a must.

Bowman said the feeling he got when he first touched the steel was like the spiritual experiences he had touching the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and visiting Lincoln's deathbed in Washington.

"I honestly did not know what to expect from myself emotionally the first time I laid my hands upon the I-beam," said Bowman, who has not flown since the 9-11 attack. "I literally had my breath taken away."

He hopes for the same experience for everyone who visits.

Among those who have already touched the piece is Jason Early, a county firefighter and member of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade deployed in Iraq, who saw the piece during a recent furlough.

"He said, This is what our mission is all about,' " Gary said.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/nor...0106/19forsyth.html