REMEMBERING GANDER Steel beam from World Trade Center heads to Canadian town

Posted on 09/07/2016 | About Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gander will receive a long-delayed thank you for opening its arms to thousands of stranded world travellers in the days after 9/11. A piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center’s south towers began a 1,500-mile journey Tuesday from Manhattan to Gander — population 12,732 — accompanied by a contingent of mostly retired FDNY bikers.

“Today is a day of great honor, because they took care of our people big time,” said ex-firefighter Bob Beckwith, 84, who famously posed with President Bush at ground zero after the attack.
Gander served as a temporary refuge for roughly 7,000 passengers whose flights were grounded after the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
The locals welcomed the stranded strangers into their homes and their hearts before the planes were allowed to leave on Sept. 14.
The residents provided their temporary neighbors with an assortment of amenities — everything from toothpaste and blankets to kosher meals and free visits with local doctors.
The delivery of the beam was arranged by the Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Siller was among the 343 FDNY members killed in the towers.
“Not all acts of courage are found on the battlefield,” said Siller’s cousin Catherine Christman.
The beam will be installed at the Gander airport where 38 planes landed in the hours after the attacks.
“People will be able to touch the rust, the bolts, the jagged edges,” Christman said.
Retired firefighter Tim Duffy, 58, was making the ride north on the same motorcycle that he drove down to ground zero on 9/11. He remembered Siller as a true hero: “He was a fireman you’d want getting your back — super fireman, a great guy.”