'It tells a story': Piece of World Trade Center sits in Bixby

BIXBY, Okla. — If you've ever passed by Washington Irving Park in Bixby, you may have questions about the big, twisted piece of metal in the front.

"You drive by this every day coming in and out of Bixby and you haven't realized what it is," Walter Gund said.

The answer? That piece of metal comes from the World Trade Center, the center piece of the parks 9/11 memorial.

Gund, the president of the Friends of Irving Foundation, says they put in a request for the beam, then brought it nearly 1,500 miles west to Bixby, officially dedicated one year after 9/11.

"It's a time in history that is very important to us," Gund said. And you've got to keep reminding people because it seems like us Americans sometimes have a very short memory. But this here, it tells a story."

The full memorial not only honors the lives lost in New York, but Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania too. Bixby Fire Chief Joe Sherrell says the memorial, and the day, carry extra weight for our first responders.

"A lot of our young firefighters, our cadets, maybe weren't alive or were very young when it happened," Sherrell said. "We've always said we wouldn't forget and we'd always remember, so we try to instill that in them."

The memorial is home to a remembrance ceremony on September 11. Shirley Zeiler with the Daughters of the American Revolution says it's an important reminder of what happened that day.

"It's something that the Wealaka chapter does to honor its veterans, honor the past veterans, honor the people who died in 9/11, and it's just something that we do to help preserve history," Zeiler said.

The beam, and the memorial, telling the story of what happened 25 years ago.

"When you come across the bridge and see the flag there and see the piece of steel, at least personally, it reminds me every day I pass it," Sherrell said.

"I think it's astonishing and it breaks my heart every time I come, but it helps us remember," Zeiler added.