Residents of Wayne Township will soon gather to witness the dedication of a historic artifact recovered from the World Trade Center site, marking the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The commemorative event will center on the formal unveiling of a recovered piece of structural steel, offering the community a tangible reminder of the national tragedy and the resilience that followed.
The unveiling is scheduled to take place during Wayne’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at 6 p.m. The gathering will be hosted in the municipal memorial park located along the Nellis Drive perimeter of the township municipal building, situated at 475 Valley Road. The park serves as a permanent sanctuary honoring the seven Wayne residents who were among the 2,977 people killed in the attacks.
At the focal point of the installation is a three-foot salvaged steel beam, which has been securely set upon a solid granite foundation at the park’s main entryway. Local officials have indicated that a custom bronze commemorative plaque will be affixed to the structure at a subsequent phase of the memorial project.
The initiative to bring the historic remnant to Wayne was led by Township Councilman Frank Pietropaolo, who publicly shared the memorial project during a Township Council meeting on Sept. 2. Pietropaolo noted during the session that securing a lasting tribute of this magnitude for the township had long been a personal aspiration.
Pietropaolo’s connection to the events of Sept. 11 extends far beyond his civic duties. Outside of his role in local government, he serves as the director of construction services for the Hackensack-based infrastructure contractor J. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc., a company that answered the call for emergency assistance in the immediate wake of the disaster.
On Sept. 12, 2001, just one day after the collapse of the Twin Towers, J. Fletcher Creamer & Son was among dozens of regional construction firms that deployed heavy excavation machinery and specialized crews to assist emergency workers with debris removal and recovery operations at Ground Zero.
Reflecting on that harrowing period, Pietropaolo recalled traveling toward lower Manhattan in a lowboy tractor-trailer laden with heavy equipment. As the convoy made its way toward the disaster site, crowds of onlookers gathered along the highways, waving flags and cheering on the emergency convoys and heavy machinery operators heading into the wreckage.
Pietropaolo expressed that the memory of that unity continues to evoke strong emotions decades later. He explained that witnessing such profound patriotism firsthand served as his primary motivation to pursue the artifact and establish a dedicated space of reflection for Wayne residents.
The path to securing the steel required extensive preparation and coordination. Pietropaolo began researching avenues to locate and obtain an authentic structural beam approximately a year ago, receiving formal authorization from the township administration before he had even secured his seat on the council.
Although the councilman chose not to disclose the precise provenance or prior custodian of the artifact, he credited the Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers Inc. with providing the essential connections and logistical assistance needed to secure the piece.
Township leaders emphasized that the entire monument was constructed without relying on municipal tax funds. The acquisition, materials, and installation expenses were covered entirely through philanthropic contributions, with Pietropaolo expressing gratitude to regional first responders as well as corporate donors, including J. Fletcher Creamer and Wayne-based contractor Salomone Bros. Inc.
Council leadership voiced strong appreciation for the cooperative effort during the recent council session. Council President Michael Fattal commended Pietropaolo for championing the project from its inception and thanked the municipal administration for facilitating the necessary groundwork to bring the memorial to fruition.
Obtaining genuine structural steel from Ground Zero has become an increasingly rare accomplishment for municipalities in recent years. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversaw the preservation and allocation of wreckage from the World Trade Center complex, officially concluded its comprehensive giveaway program roughly a decade ago.
During the active years of that program, the agency cataloged and gifted roughly 2,600 individual pieces of structural steel and related artifacts to emergency services, civic groups, and educational institutions across all 50 U.S. states and 10 foreign nations.
In addition to structural beams and girders, past items distributed by the Port Authority encompassed diverse remnants of the complex, ranging from components of the 360-foot telecommunications mast that once stood atop the North Tower to surviving PATH train cars and unsold merchandise from concourse shops.
For communities throughout northern New Jersey, these physical pieces of recovered steel remain deeply meaningful centerpieces for public reflection, serving as lasting symbols of perseverance and collective remembrance for future generations.
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