BANGOR, Maine — A piece of a steel beam that once was part of the World Trade Center made a layover stop in Bangor Wednesday during its travels from New York City to Gander, Newfoundland.
The relic is being delivered to Gander as a gift in appreciation of the Canadian community having taken in some 6,700 passengers on 38 planes forced to land there for a week while air traffic was grounded in the aftermath of the the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
In what came to be known as Operation Yellow Ribbon, the town of about 10,000 helped house, feed and meet the needs of the travelers who became stuck there.
The piece of steel beam arrived in Bangor in a trailer accompanied by about 15 motorcycle riders and led by a Maine State Police escort, who roared into the city shortly after 5 p.m. The group’s first stop in the city was the Central Fire Station on Main Street.
The group was met by Bangor firefighters, who erected a 15-by-25-foot American flag hoisted some 100 feet into the air on an aerial ladder truck. Several other Fire Department vehicles also were lined up out front to greet the group.
District Chief Pat Nichols of the Boston Fire Department was among the riders accompanying the sacred steel.
“We do it because it means a lot to us,” Nichols said. “I mean, we’re all firemen, active firemen from different departments, and we were on the job [when the terrorist attacks occurred], maybe not necessarily as part of 9/11, but we all remember it.”
The gift to Gander was arranged by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and the convoy was organized by members of the New York City Fire Riders Motorcycle Club, who were accompanied along the way by firefighter biker groups from Boston and New Hampshire, as well as members of two Maine chapters of the Patriot Riders of America.
The group left Manhattan on Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Gander on Sunday, which marks the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, according to the group’s itinerary.
Maine is home to several pieces of the twisted remains of the World Trade Center.
Brewer received three relics from the World Trade Center in 2008. The pieces are on display at the city’s Public Safety Building.
Ashland also has a piece of steel and concrete structure as do Ellsworth, Auburn and Freeport.