Dozens of New York City firefighters with close ties to those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks brought a piece of the World Trade Center site to Sarasota on Tuesday.
Local firefighters hung a giant American flag from a ladder as a police motorcade escorted a truck carrying the steel beam to Emma E. Booker Elementary, where then-president George W. Bush was reading with children when the hijacked planes hit.
The stop was part of a national tour by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. It honors New York City Fire Department's Stephen Siller, 34, who ran with his gear through the Brooklyn Battery tunnel, and was one of the 343 firefighters who died trying to save people from the burning buildings.
His son, Stephen Siller Jr., was just nine months old then.
"Our mission is to never forget what my father did that day, what thousands of brave men and women did that day, the sacrifices that were made, and what happened to this country," he said.
Also on hand at the event was Andrew Card, who was chief of staff to the president then. He recalled the words he spoke that morning, nearly 25 years ago, when Bush was at an event to read with children from Booker Elementary.
"I walked up to the President. I whispered into his ear, 'A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack,'" said Card, who is now 79.
He said whenever he sees the video or images of himself whispering in the president's ear, in a roomful of schoolchildren, he remembers the weight of that moment.
“It is a call to duty and responsibility, not for me, but for all of us who made the promise never to forget, and the responsibility to tell people who are too young to remember what happened that day,” Card said.
Clesha Henry Allen, 55, still teaches at Booker Elementary and recalled the chaos of that day, and a question from one of her fifth graders:
"And he asked me, 'Miss Henry, are we going to die?' I could feel his fear. It was alive in my classroom, and I had to calmly say, ‘Baby, we're safe. We still have Secret Service here, so we're going to be okay.’ But on the inside, I felt his same fear."
She said seeing the beam at the school 25 years later reminded her of a time when the nation came together in the face of tragedy.
“Any time I remember this moment, I think I had to comfort the students that were in my care. And after that tragedy that hit our country, I always think about President Bush and he had to comfort a nation,” she said.
"It just commemorates how great a nation that we are, and how we come back from everything that hits us, every traumatic moment, every sad moment, we always rebound stronger, smarter, more enlightened.”
Local school board members and government officials attended a ceremony at Booker Elementary. Catering was provided by Mission Barbecue and Grill Team Six, a volunteer group of FDNY firefighters.
Bagpipers from Riverview High School’s Kilties band played “Amazing Grace” and “Scotland the Brave,” in honor of the sacrifices of first responders.
“I give all my respect and honor to these people,” said Danny Alendar, 19, who began learning the bagpipes at Riverview High and still plays with the group. “And especially to the people who are ready to come together and celebrate to honor the memories of these people. It's truly beautiful, honestly.”
Tunnel to Towers is a foundation that raises awareness about 9/11 and offers mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders and military personnel and pays for children’s scholarships, according to the foundation website. Siller’s family members were lay Franciscans, who lived by the words: “While we have time, let us do good.”
The beam is on a national tour that will conclude in New York on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The next stop is May 22 at the Mets vs Miami Marlins game at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
