GCC Unveils World Trade Center Steel

Sept. 11, the day that left countless dead and even more injured will never be forgotten by all who witnessed in horror as the towers fell. But what about those who never saw the towers fall with their own eyes? 

Representatives of Gloucester County College decided to do their part in making sure the day will remain sharp in people's minds when they unveiled a piece of the steel from Ground Zero Tuesday morning.

With less than a month left until the anniversary of Sept. 11, police and civilians gathered at Gloucester County College (GCC) to witness the acceptance of a steel beam from the World Trade Center (WTC). Freeholders, representatives from the college, and representatives  of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority spoke about the artifact, which is soon to be the focal point of an on-campus memorial. 

“This application just stood out,” said Bill Baroni, deputy executive director for the New York/New Jersey Port Authority. 

There New York/New Jersey Port Authority has received around 2,000 applications for pieces of steel from the Trade Center, including 300 in New Jersey that have already been approved. Each application is reviewed for intent, Baroni says that they must make sure that applicants are not attempting to acquire a piece purely for marketing purposes. 

In order to bring the piece of steel to GCC, it had to be cleared by a federal judge, since all the remains of the WTC are still considered crime scene evidence. 

Other locations in South Jersey that have received the WTC steel include Mt. Laurel, Vineland and Woodstown. Gloucester County also has a twisted I-beam from Ground Zero installed at the county memorial in Mantua's Chestnut Branch Park, which hosts .

“For the people of Gloucester County and South Jersey, it’s just so important to see what was lost on Sept. 11,” said Baroni. 

Currently, GCC is working on a display case that will hold the piece of WTC steel inside. The steel will then rest at the campus’ library, where the college is planning to erect a Gloucester County police museum.

In addition to the steel, the museum will house artifacts contributed from police chiefs in the county. GCC also plans to start a law enforcement education center to coordinate with the museum. 

“Thousands of students will come through our campus and have a chance to see this piece of steel from a building they may have never seen in person,” said Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger in his speech, “And they will know that it is sacred and it represents a day that changed America.”

Joseph Getsinger, executive director for Safety and Security at GCC hopes to see the museum up by next spring. Getsinger plans to donate several pieces of his own police and fire fighter inspired artwork to the museum—the art accompanied the WTC steel at the ceremony. 

“There were a lot of people who lost loved ones in Gloucester County, and this is to honor them,” says Getsinger. 

Others who attended the event included Jonathan Urso of the Blackwood Fire Department and Linda Camarota of the Washington Township Ambulance Association. Both are members of Battalion 343, a non-profit group of firefighter, officers, and emergency responders who gather to honor all those who died on Sept. 11.

Both Urso and Camarote can recall where they were when they heard about the attacks on the twin towers, a memory that most Americans today share.

Their Sept. 11 memorial trucks, which lead the Wildwood State Convention every year, travel around the tri-area for parades and memorial services to help keep those memories alive. They are also on Ground Zero every year for ceremonies. Battalion 343 is also hoping to obtain two pieces of steel from the WTC to mount on their vehicles in the future.  

“It is, in essence, a mobile memorial,” says Urso.