In New York City, there are two gaping holes in the earth where, 25 years ago, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood and then collapsed in a series of horrific events. 

The buildings are no longer there, but the haunting images of Sept. 11 linger: the planes, the fiery explosions, the plumes of smoke, the mangled steel coated in a thick layer of ash. 

On the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the Whitefish Fire Department is set to unveil a memorial dedicated to the lives lost on that tragic day, with three beams of steel from the Twin Towers as the centerpiece. A dedication ceremony will take place at Whitefish's Emergency Services Center at 11 a.m. 

"Ultimately, as a country, we made a promise to never forget, right?" Whitefish Firefighter Sal Baccaro said. Baccaro represents the Whitefish Firefighters Association, the nonprofit organization spearheading the memorial.  "It was the biggest terrorist attack in United States history, and it's important that we remember that day and the events that happened. But it's also important that we remember the strength and unity that came from it as a country. So showing our support on this side of the nation is just as important." 

But how did these skeletal remains of the Twin Towers come to rest in Northwest Montana, so far from the busy streets of downtown Manhattan? 

In the months following Sept. 11, as shell-shocked crews and civilians sorted through the rubble, artifacts from the downed buildings accumulated in a hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport. More than 2,600 pieces of building steel, first responder vehicles and other objects recovered from the site remained, unseen and largely forgotten, in Hangar 17 for nearly a decade. 

In 2010, former Whitefish Fire Chief Tom Kennelly learned from his daughter, who worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, that the Port Authority was distributing these artifacts around the country to be used in memorials to the attack.  

Kennelly applied that year, and Whitefish received three pieces of steel that had once been part of buildings that stretched more than 1,300 feet into the sky.  

"Each artifact from Hangar 17 is a piece of history that tells a special story about Sept. 11, such as firefighters and rescuers running into the burning Towers to save those who were in the greatest need," Joseph W. Pfeifer, Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness for the Fire Department of New York, said at the program's conclusion. "The Sept. 11 steel, whether small or large, represents the 343 firefighters who were lost, as well as the victims of terrorism throughout the world. Not only do these artifacts help us to never forget, but it also represents our hope for an end to terrorism." 

In six years, artifacts had been distributed to all 50 states and 10 foreign nations. As the fragments of steel, twisted and burned, were scattered throughout the nation, they served as a reminder: the attack on the Twin Towers may have left the deepest scars in New York City, but the shockwaves were felt throughout the country, and no place was left untouched. 

For more than 15 years, the three pieces of steel sat untouched in an apparatus bay at the Whitefish Fire Department. The city of Whitefish in 2023 granted land to the Fire Department to be used as the site, but the project didn't really begin in earnest until a year ago, in anticipation of the 25th anniversary. 

"It's pretty surreal that so many years have passed since the event," Baccaro said. "But it's equally as important that we remember and reflect and honor that, even this far down the line. There's a whole generation that grew up not really knowing about Sept. 11. They weren't alive during that time." 

But for those who were alive, Sept. 11 was like a rip in the timeline of history. Nearly 3,000 people died in three coordinated attacks, beginning when hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center's North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.  

At 9:37 a.m., as the world was reeling and struggling to understand what had transpired in New York City, American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. And at 10:03 a.m., after a struggle between the passengers and hijackers, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, just 20 minutes flight-time from Washington, D.C. 

The memorial seeks to honor all the lives lost on that day. Designed by Whitefish-based Whitecloud Design, the base on which the steel beams will be displayed is shaped like a pentagon. Acutech Metalworks welded the steel beams together. The largest beam, 13 feet long, lends a sense of scale to the memorial and will point east, toward New York City.  

The memorial would not have been at all possible without the support of the community, Baccaro said. Local contractors donated time and materials to the projects, including Malmquist Construction, Benchmark Concrete, Archer Excavation, Simco, Petra Stone, Jakola Engineering, Cushing Terrell, Garden City Monument Services, Robinson Design, Harmon Crane & Rigging. 

The Whitefish Firefighters Association, which is spearheading the project, is taking part in the Great Fish Community Challenge, which concludes on Sept. 11. The association is also selling 911 engraved pavers that will be incorporated into the memorial pathway.  

At the dedication ceremony, one ladder truck will display a large American flag while another will unveil the new memorial to the public for the first time. The Whitefish High School orchestra will perform, along with the Montana Bagpiper, who will play "Amazing Grace." 

Retired Fire District of New York Lieutenant Kevin Shea is slated to give the keynote address. Shea has lived in the Flathead Valley for more than a decade now, but the fifth-generation New Yorker was once a member of New York City's elite Rescue Company 1, where he first became known for a daring rooftop rescue in 1991. 

Shea was also one of the firefighters who responded to the 1993 terrorist bombings at the World Trade Center. During the operation, he fell four stories through an explosives crater and impaled his leg on rebar, sustaining injuries that he recovered from but led to his eventual retirement from the fire service in 1998.  

When the towers fell in 2001, Shea's first impulse was to run toward the blast to help, a firefighter's instinct that he never could leave behind. He spent weeks combing through the rubble with other stunned citizens and first responders. It was a way to process what had happened on that day – 11 members of Rescue Company 1 died that day.   

These are the collective scars that firefighters around the country bear from that day, a deep wound felt by a tightly knit community. Through this new memorial, Baccaro said, the Whitefish Fire Department hopes to create a space to honor the lives lost on that day 25 years ago.  

"We hope it's going to be a way to bring together the community and remember the people who were impacted by the event, which is everyone, everywhere," Whitefish Fire Chief Cole Hadley said. "It's a place where they can gather and think about what happened. We want to treat the people who were lost and who were impacted with the honor and respect that they deserve." 

For more information about the Whitefish 9/11 Memorial, visit whitefish911memorial.com. The dedication ceremony takes place on Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Whitefish Emergency Services Center, 275 Flathead Avenue.  

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support 

    An artist rendering of the Whitefish 9/11 memorial, set to be unveiled during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. (Courtesy Whitefish Firefighters Association)
  

    An artist rendering of the Whitefish 9/11 memorial, set to be unveiled during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. (Courtesy Whitefish Firefighters Association)