New 9/11 I-Beam Memorial Monument Unveiled At Union Beach

UNION BEACH, NJ — From the same place where 20 years ago residents watched the horrific events of 9/11 unfold, all the way across the water, now stands a brand new memorial monument at Union Beach dedicated to those who lost their lives during the attack.

"We watched the smoke and debris clouds rise from Ground Zero for weeks afterward," said Robert LaBerta, former fire department Chief and active firefighter of the Union Beach Fire Department. "It was an overwhelming feeling of loss and anger but Union Beach came together as a community.

Two bald eagles flew over Firefighters Park after the cover was lifted to reveal the new monument, during a ceremony on Saturday.

It features a steel I-beam piece recovered from the Twin Towers. The two vertical black granite columns are etched to look exactly like the former towers and the base stone is a grey granite from Vermont.

The Knights of the Inferno Motorcycle Club reached out to Joe Uras of Uras Monuments of Middletown to design and build the memorial. He was excited about the project and even donated and discounted many items to make the memorial a reality, according to LaBerta.

"The Union Beach Fire Department radiofrequency was the same radio frequency as the FDNY Citywide broadcast frequency at that time," LaBerta said. "I can remember being at our firehouse on a Sunday and hearing Citywide broadcast the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty at the WTC after they were found. Every time we heard these broadcasts, we would stop what we were doing and stand silently until the broadcast was over. Many of us cried.

READ MORE: Motorcycle Run On Sunday Raising Funds For 9/11 Memorial

The monument has been a long time coming, according to LaBerta, who is also National President and Founder of the Knights of the Inferno Firefighter/Military Motorcycle Club, the organization behind the efforts to put together and fund the memorial.

For many years, members of the Union Beach fire department tried to obtain a piece of steel and in 2016 a Fords Firefighter approached the motorcycle club with a piece of WTC steel he had acquired from the Port Authority.

The monument idea was discussed with fire commissioners, the mayor and the town council. It was eventually set to debut in 2020, but COVID-19 derailed those plans temporarily.

On Aug. 29, the Knights of the Inferno Motorcycle Club hosted their annual run, which helped reach the total funding necessary for the monument.

Many people and organizations came together to make the monument a reality, from the FDNY Firefighter Thomas J Foley Foundation to the Cogliano Family of Hazlet.