9/11 Memorial to be Unveiled in Beverly

BEVERLY, MA – A new memorial dedicated to those killed on September 11th, as well as the first responders who lost their lives, will be unveiled on the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The service will begin at 9 a.m. at the monument's site, 43 Airport Rd., helmed by keynote speaker Fred LaFemina. LaFemina, the former Chief of Rescue Operations of the FDNY, was one of the first to respond to the attacks at the World Trade Center.

The ceremony will include a moment of silence at 9:58 a.m. to remember the collapse of the World Trade Center's South Tower.

Guided tours will also be offered by the Massachusetts Urban Search & Rescue Task Force at 8 a.m., ahead of the formal ceremony.

The idea for the memorial began six years ago, after the Task Force received a steel section of the North Tower. The piece of "impact steel," is approximately 21 feet long, seven feet wide and weighs about 1500 pounds. At the bottom of the piece is a dried flower, placed into a bolt hole in 2001 and preserved as part of the monument.

The site has many symbolic features to honor the victims of the attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, PA.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Mark Foster at 978-922-5680 or Anita Arnum at 978-994-5956.

Photo submitted by the Urban Search & Rescue Task Force