Maryland 9/11 Memorial Unveiled

Shortly before the ceremony to unveil the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland on Sunday afternoon, rain began to fall.

The dark skies were a sharp contrast to the clear morning a decade ago when 68 Maryland residents were among the 2,819 people who

Elected officials, dignitaries and the families of the Sept. 11 victims gathered in front of Baltimore’s World Trade Center to watch the unveiling of the memorial.

One monument features amalgamated steel beams from the 94th floor from the New York World Trade Center’s North Tower, another features limestone pieces from the west wall of the Pentagon and the last has three pieces of polished granite, representing Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, PA. 

Rand Griffin, chairman of the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland Executive Committee, became emotional when he spoke about the mangled pieces of steel that are now part of the monument.

“They are twisted, torn and tattered unlike any steel you have ever seen. We wanted an artifact that would represent that day. I think that this one takes your breath away,” Griffin said.

Gov. Martin O’Malley recalled the anger caused by 9/11 but also remembered residents rallying in front of the War Memorial Plaza to denounce being ruled by fear.

“We came together in that time of sorrow to pledge that we would never allow our freedom to be conquered, and we would never allow fear to conquer us,” O’Malley said. “That we promised ourselves that we would never allow our love to be conquered by hate.”