Cranberry FD memorial honors, educates
CRANBERRY TWP — Eleven years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bruce Hezlep realized a memorial in front of the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company's station on Route 19 could serve two important roles.
“It initially was, hey, this will be a great reminder of what happened and honor those who were killed,” Hezlep said. “Secondarily, it was like, wait a minute. This could be an educational tool for people that don't remember the events on Sept. 11.”
The monument — which contains granite slabs, a timeline of the 9/11 attacks, pictures of first responders who died and a piece of steel from the World Trade Center — was erected in 2012, and serves both goals Hezlep described.
“We know there's many families across the country and beyond that may never, ever get to go to Ground Zero,” said Jeff Berneburg, who served as assistant chief in 2012. “I was able to bring a piece of that to Cranberry and have it constructed in front of the fire station. Anyone has the ability, if they want to, to come visit the site, look at what we brought back, and it's accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Anyone can come look at the memorial, look at the timeline, look at the photographs from each crash site and touch a piece of steel from Ground Zero.”
A portion of this story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. To read the full story and support our local, independent newsroom, please subscribe at butlereagle.com.
