New 9/11 Memorial Coming To Pierce County In September

MILTON, WA — A years-long effort to erect a 9/11 memorial in Milton will reach a milestone on the 18th anniversary of the terror attacks. On Sept. 11, volunteers will raise a 40-foot piece of steel at the Milton Community Park, the centerpiece of the memorial.

The Fife, Milton, and Edgewood 9/11 Memorial Committee has been planning the memorial for about seven years, and received the steel about four years ago. The committee has been collecting donations from around the region since then to build the park.

Milton's WTC steel, thought to be the tallest of any 9/11 memorial in the region, was a window frame from the World Trade Center Tower 2 building between the 91st and 94th floors. The steel will stand at the center of the memorial, with benches in a circle around it for reflection.

"The reason behind designing the memorial with the steel standing is to reflect our country’s strength, and that we are still standing," East Pierce Fire Chief Bud Backer said of the memorial recently.

There are about thousands of 9/11 memorials around the world, and many use pieces of steel from the wrecked buildings. New York's Port Authority salvaged about 840 pieces of WTC steel, and then cut it into more than 2,000 pieces to be distributed to governments to build memorials.

There is no large ceremony planned in Milton, but the public is invited to watch the steel go up. The steel-raising will happen at 1 p.m. at the northeast corner of the park at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Milton Way on Sept. 11.