16 Tons Of World Trade Center Wreckage To Act As Centerpiece Of 9/11 Tribute At Nixon Library
YORBA LINDA (CBS) — Sixteen tons of wreckage from New York's World Trade Center, and a damaged NYFD ladder truck, arrived under police escort from the Inland Empire to the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda Monday morning.
"There are a lot of brave men, women, and children that lost their lives. My sense of touch is very strong. It brings me closer to them," said an emotional Julie Franco.
Franco, a mother of two from Placentia, felt it was important to bring her two sons to the exhibit to experience and learn the tragic history lesson of 9/11.
"Nothing really compares to being there in person, but this brings you a little closer to the magnitude of the event," she said.
"We think it's a very dramatic and emotional reminder to the community that this did happen, and not too long ago, and it can happen again," said Sandy Quinn, President of the Richard Nixon Foundation.
For Phil Hotsenpiller, it was a lesson he learned from the air on another plane that day.
"When we passed the first tower it was already on fire, so our plane was downed in Detroit and we had to drive back," he said.
The Yorba Linda pastor uses his experience to share with others.
"Our world view changed as Americans, we know that. I say we grew up. We were in high school and we went to college and we got schooled in some new things about life," he said.
The wreckage will be on display at the Nixon library (18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.) through next Sunday, Sept. 11. Each morning a special ceremony will be held at 10:30.
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