911 Artifacts Arrive In Miramar For Planned Memorial

MIRAMAR (CBS4) - Under full police escort, two large steel artifacts salvaged from World Trade Center site in New York arrived Monday morning at Miramar City Hall.

The pieces, which weigh approximately 4,100 pounds each and measure 138" x 16" X 16" and 138" x 43" x 36", were donated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to the Professional Firefighters of Miramar Benevolent Association for a memorial to honor the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Leading the police escort was Miramar Officer Michael Yepez, a former NYPD officer who witnessed the aftermath and was on the World Trade Center site the day of the attacks.

The pieces will be put on display at the Miramar Cultural Arts Center until the proposed memorial can be constructed and completed in 2012.

The memorial will feature a remembrance wall, bronze statues of a police officer and firefighter, and nine reflection pools at its entrance. The artifacts will be positioned upright on a pentagon shaped platform set on the edge of a lake; water will cascade down its stair stepped sides. The names of the 89 police officers and 343 firefighters who died in the attacks will be carved into one of the platform's walls opposite a plaque with the history of the September 11th attacks.

The Miramar Police Benevolent Association is preparing to raise funds through donations to construct the memorial.