In addition to the 9/11 steel memorial at Word Park, featuring a piece of steel from the Twin Towers, Beckley is now home to a piece of the Pentagon.
During the special ceremony following the Parade of Lights on Saturday, Sept. 11, Kevin Price, event coordinator, said that he had something special for all those in attendance.
“You can’t take it home, but you are still going to get it,” Price said. “It is small in size, yet its meaning is significant and just as powerful as the 12,000 pound piece of steel and marble we have sitting in uptown Beckley.”
Price explained that about a year ago, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral J.D. McCarthy (Ret.) contacted him to ask if he would like to have this small piece of rubble recovered shortly after the attack.
In a framed letter from the Fayetteville resident, McCarthy noted that the piece of rubble “remains a reminder of the 189 people who perished at the Pentagon as a direct result of that attack—sixty four of which were on board American Airlines Flight 77.”
In closing the ceremony, attended by numerous first responders and their families, and featuring a moving tribute to local first responders who lost their lives this year, Price reminded everyone to be kind. He quoted Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the day may bring.”
“I say to you all, carpe diem, which means seize the day. Make it a great one. Not just for you, but for someone else,” Price said.
He told everyone to never forget the events of 9/11.
