Law enforcement personnel and firefighters from Cass County lined the bridges and overpasses to Interstate 80 this (Friday) afternoon, as a contingent of Patriot Guard riders, veterans and Emergency Services personnel escorted a piece of history through Iowa on its way to Colorado.

Members of the Marne Fire Department salute a piece of the World Trade Center as it goes by the Marne Interstate Exit to honor the fallen of 9/11. Photo courtesy Ashley Haupert

An Iowa State Patrol Trooper leads the WTC Beam convoy along I-80 in Cass County. (Photos courtesy Mike Kennon, Cass County Emergency Mgmt. Agency)

A five-foot long, more than 3,000-pound piece of steel which was part of a World Trade Center wall that fell during the 9-11 attacks, was carried on a trailer pulled by a pickup with custom graphics. An American flag covering the beam fluttered in the wind as it made its way west on I-80 between 1:30-and 2-p.m., today (Friday).

The steel beam is being transferred to the Poudre Fire Authority in Ft. Collins, CO. Members of the Poudre Fire Authority’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, Colorado Task Force 1, were tasked and dispatched to the scene of the World Trade Center Twin Towers collapse shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The team worked for several weeks to locate victims.

A ceremony to mark the arrival of the beam in Ft. Collins is set to take place Saturday. For more information, go to www.poudre-fire.org/what-s-new/wtc-artifact-journey. A map will be updated on the half-hour as the beam and its escort travels westward.

Photo from the Omaha Fire Dept. Facebook page

Photo from the Stuart Volunteer Fire Dept.’s Facebook page

Firefighters from Minden stand ready to honor the WTC beam convoy as they prepare to pass by. (Minden Fire & Rescue Facebook page photo)