New Arlington memorial passes memory on to future generations

ARLINGTON — Esmie Williams was born on Sept. 11, 2002, one year after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93.

ARLINGTON — Esmie Williams was born on Sept. 11, 2002, one year after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93.

Twelve years later, she was able to touch the 13-foot, 5,000-pound steel beam from the WTC which now serves as the centerpiece of Arlington’s memorial to those attacks.

“It’s depressing,” Esmie said of sharing a birthday with such a somber anniversary, “but I try not to let it get me down.”

Esmie’s mother, Rachel, said: “It’s a constant reminder of what that day was, and what it still means. At the same time, we tell her that her birth helped lighten the load of that day.”

Arlington Fire Station 46 was dedicated with the arrival of the 9/11 artifact from New York City on Sept. 11, 2011.

Interim Fire Chief Tom Cooper and Public Safety Director Bruce Stedman recounted how Arlington was repeatedly told it wouldn’t receive the artifact in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

They credited the city’s firefighters and community with making its timely arrival possible, as well as funding the memorial at Station 46 to house the artifact.

Chris Young, a retired New York state firefighter, reflected on friends he lost that day, and recalled asking a reporter if she could remember where she was when the attacks happened.

“She said, ‘I was seven,'” Young said. “It’s our duty to make sure we don’t forget, and to pass it on to each generation.”

Claudia Thomas was among the volunteer responders in NYC, and urged Americans to provide aid for the 70,000 who have fallen ill from working in the toxic atmosphere at the site.

“Those who have served our country deserve its support,” Thomas said.