Driving through the town of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, I noticed two structures of the same height side by side. With my visual impairment, I am not always sure what I am seeing. “Was that the Twin Towers?,” I asked my husband. “I didn’t see it,” he replied as he made the first right to go around the block and check it out. I assumed it was nothing, my eyes playing tricks on me. They were not.
Pulling into the parking lot behind what I had seen, Mister Rain said, “It is the Twin Towers.” We both exited the car, walking along the sidewalk leading to the dual pillars. “Oh my gosh, there are items here from the Pentagon, Ground Zero and Flight 93,” he told me. I stopped in my tracks. When it comes to things like this, sometimes you need a second to prepare yourself.
In addition to the two approximately 12′ granite columns, there was limestone from near the Flight 93 crash site, limestone from the Pentagon and a piece of the World Trade Center. Having been to all three 9/11 Memorials, I felt a strong connection to the artifacts from each location. Since the piece from New York was not in a case, I was able to touch it, thinking of all the photographs I had seen in the days following that Tuesday in September. This metal was there, now it was here, underneath my hand.
I wish that every town in America could have such a tribute to the lives lost on September 11th as well as the heroes who came to our nation’s aid. But I am grateful I got to see . . . and feel . . . this beautiful memorial in Mullica Hill, a small town with a big heart.
If you would like to read my stories about visiting the three 9/11 Memorials:
“Flight 93 Memorial”
“National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial”
“9/11 Memorial & Museum“
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