World Trade Center Steel Beam Tours the U.S. for 25th Anniversary of 9/11

A steel beam measuring 21 feet and weighing 16,900 pounds, once part of the World Trade Center’s South Tower, arrived in Indianapolis last month during a nationwide tour. This tour commemorates the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and will conclude at Ground Zero.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation organized the ‘Steel Across America’ tour, marking its 31st visit at the Indiana War Memorial and Museum on August 19. The beam will journey over 10,500 miles through 21 states and Washington, D.C., before returning to New York City for a September 11 remembrance.

Recovered from Ground Zero shortly after the attacks, the steel became a symbol for the lives lost, including nearly 3,000 civilians, firefighters, police officers, emergency workers, and military personnel.

“For the past four months, communities across the country have welcomed this sacred piece of American history with incredible emotion,” said Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller. “Watching people stand in front of that steel, hugging it, praying over it, weeping, reminds me every single day of why we do this work.”

The Indianapolis ceremony featured a color guard, pipes and drums procession, and a performance of the national anthem by the Voices of the Indianapolis Fire Department. Indianapolis Fire Department Chaplain Mike Gatliff delivered an invocation.

Fire Division Chief Tom Neal and Timothy Winslow, a retired major general and executive director of the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, addressed the crowd regarding the connection between Indianapolis first responders, veterans, and the 9/11 legacy.

FDNY Lt. Jack Kielty, a Tunnel to Towers board member, expressed the significance of bringing the steel to a museum dedicated to American sacrifice. “Indiana veterans and first responders understand what it means to serve,” he stated.

The event emphasized Indiana’s role in the aftermath of the tragedy. Nine Indiana residents perished on September 11, and Indianapolis Task Force One sent rescuers to Ground Zero, with six later dying from related illnesses.

Marine Corps veteran Scott Nokes, a Tunnel to Towers recipient, spoke on the importance of witnessing the steel. “Out of the 2,977 lives that were lost, there’s over 1,000 bodies that were never recovered specifically from Ground Zero in New York,” Nokes said. “Their souls are in that steel, and if you touch it, you feel it.”

The tour aims to educate younger Americans who may not have experienced the events of September 11 directly. According to Nokes, seeing the material provides a connection that cannot be replicated through books or documentaries.

Following the Indianapolis stop, the beam visited the Cincinnati Fire Museum. Future stops include West Point, Boston, and Washington, D.C., before concluding in New York City.

When the steel returns to New York City on September 11, Frank Siller and his family will carry it through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. This act retraces Stephen Siller’s path 25 years ago as he ran toward the World Trade Center with 60 pounds of gear on his back.