by MICHAEL RATCLIFFE
In honor of the 343 New York City firefighters and thousands of civilians who perished in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, firefighters from throughout Mercer County turned out in force yesterday morning to help escort a piece of steel from the World Trade Center as it was transported from Brooklyn to The Pentagon in Arlington County, Va.
With the Stars and Stripes - large American flags suspended from the buckets and tips of the raised aerials of fire department ladder trucks - flying proudly overhead, local firefighters strategically positioned themselves on all the overpasses along the procession's route of travel on the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstates 195 and 295.
As the steel passed by on a flatbed trailer, firefighters stood at attention and saluted.
Firefighters in parts of Middlesex, Burlington and other counties held similar observances at overpasses in their areas.
Meanwhile, fire crews from Somerset County and elsewhere were relocated to stand by at several Mercer County firehouses. They were there to respond in case a fire or other emergency were to occur while local firefighters were committed to the highway overpasses.
Accompanying the steel on its journey were several fire department vehicles, including a ladder truck inscribed with the names of all the FDNY firefighters killed on 9/11, as well as a restored 1940's pumper. Hundreds of motorcycles also took part in the procession, as New Jersey state troopers kept the road ahead clear of traffic.
About 9:30 a.m., the procession stopped at the state police's Troop C headquarters off Klockner Road in Hamilton, where state police officials and New York City firefighters spoke during a brief ceremony.
Afterward, the procession made its way onto southbound Interstate 295. At the Scenic Overlook, firefighters from Ewing, Hopewell Township, Lawrence and Princeton Township offered up one last salute from Mercer County before the procession entered Burlington County and the escorting reins were passed to Bordentown firefighters.
The "Iron and Steel Run," as it is known, was expected to make a few more brief stops on its 260-mile journey before arriving at The Pentagon Saturday evening. A formal ceremony - officially transferring custody of the steel to the Arlington County Fire Department from the FDNY and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - is planned for Sunday morning.
Similar runs were held in past years to deliver Ground Zero steel to Fort Benning, Ga., and to Shanksville Fire Co., which responded to the crash of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
The runs help raise much-needed funds for the FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing medical transportation to the families of injured or killed New York City firefighters. For more information on the foundation, visit their website at: /http://www.firefamilytransport.org.
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