World Trade Center Segment:

As a retired firefighter, I took a short road trip back to my old firehouse in Des Plaines, IL to check out a new arrival at the kind invitation of Deputy Chief Ron Eilken. (Gee, I remember when he was an exceptional rookie. Now he's the Administrative Deputy Chief!)

There, I had a chance to see a small section of a support I-beam from the World Trade Center. Scheduled to be part of a permanent 9/11 memorial at city hall, I felt a bittersweet combination of excitement and reverence touching this artifact of a tragic event on 9/11/01.

It was good to see that the Des Plaines Fire Department, like others across the country, are committed to making sure that everyone remembers Sept. 11, 2001, and accord the date the reverence and attention it deserves.  

The section is now part of a completed memorial resting in front of City Hall in downtown Des Plaines, IL.