Pausing, looking, taking photographs, walking to the other side -- their actions took many forms, almost as though they were on hallowed ground.
A few even reached up and touched the rusty, twisted beam. The American flag covering the beam gave the hint of something out of the ordinary.It was the closest many of the people will ever physically come to Ground Zero and the destruction of the World Trade Center.
R&R Transportation Group of Duenweg was asked to haul the beam to Silverdale, Washington, where it will be placed in a memorial.
Company officials selected Lee and Donna Summers from Loraine, Texas, to drive the load across the country. They left with the load on Monday, stopped in Mt. Vernon on August 11 and spent the night.
The couple will be making a stop at company headquarters in Duenweg and resuming their trip on August 16. Once they reach Post Falls, Idaho, the Patriot Guard and state police will escort them to the destination.
Donna Summers said they will literally drive into a ceremony at the memorial site in Silverdale.
“It’s awesome,” she said of the load they are carrying. “We’ve had some interesting loads before, but nothing like this.”
The two I beams are resting on wood blocks and are partially covered with the flag. The usual come-alongs and chains secures the beams to the trailer. While the twists in the beams made it a bit awkward for estimating length, one appeared to be about 12-feet long while one appeared to be 24 to 36-feet long.
The crowd gathering on August 12 before the load left its parking place behind the restaurant at Truck Stop of America in Mt. Vernon consisted of a variety of people. Many were on their way to work for the day. Parents brought their children. Some just happened to be stopping to eat or fuel vehicles.
Two men at separate times walked to the trailer, reached up, touched the beam and held that touch for a few seconds; it was akin to someone reaching out and touching a gravestone.
Leo Roberson, a veteran of the Korean War and chaplain at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon, was one to touch the beam.
“I think about all the people that suffered and died. I touch it in respect for our country. I just had to touch it. I just can’t describe how it feels to have our country attacked like this. I don’t understand why those people have not been brought to justice,” said Roberson.
Others in the crowd voiced concern about the mosque that is proposed for construction across the street from Ground Zero. They see the project as a slap in the face to the country and those lost in the attack.
