Thread by @CIA

A rust-colored steel column recovered amid the rubble of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is a permanent memorial at CIA Headquarters.

#September11
#NeverForget

bit.ly/2Qmb0aj

The 9000 lb, 17’6” steel column was retrieved from World Trade Center Building Six, the shortest tower at the #WTC complex. It suffered secondary but catastrophic damage when the North Tower collapsed.

In 2011, New York City Port Authority (@PANYNJ) gave the WTC artifact to CIA.

The column was originally unveiled on the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, when it was temporarily displayed inside our Original Headquarters Building, before being relocated this year to its permanent location outside.

“Inside the Agency,” recalls CIA Museum Director Robert Byer, “it was encased in a wood box with an opening around it. Because it was in a contained space, when you walked past it, you noticed the scent of smoke. Fifteen years later, you could still smell the smoke from 9/11.”

The steel column now resides in a solemn memorial on CIA grounds, a moving tribute to all those who died in the attacks on that fateful day, and serves as a space for Agency employees to honor the fallen.

DCIA Haspel: “Every year, the anniversary of 9/11 is a time for both reflection & renewal. It’s a time to remember not only the lives we lost, but also the resilience of the American people, the strength of our values, & our determination to stand up to terrorism.”

DCIA Haspel: “Seventeen years later, we’re still taking the fight to the enemy with the same energy, focus, and commitment. We owe that not only to the victims, but to the loved ones they left behind—and to the country that will never forget them.”
#September11
#NeverForget

At today’s #September11 remembrance event at CIA Headquarters, after observing a moment of silence, Director Haspel placed a wreath next to an American flag recovered from Ground Zero.

#NeverForget