After the relics made their way to Aghanistan and back, Little Rock Air Force Base has two pieces of World Trade Center steel on display in the mobility processing center thanks to the tenacity of a senior master sergeant who brought the mementoes to the air base.
One piece is from the New York Fire Department Academy—the one shaped like Arkansas—and the other is from the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey, from the I-beam.
Senior Master Sgt. Bubba Beason, who was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., two years ago, wanted to take pieces of the World Trade Center with him to Afghanistan. He explains how he acquired the steel from Ground Zero and how it made its way to LRAFB, where he now serves with the 19th Airlift Wing.
Beason had received orders for a 365-day tour of duty to Afghanistan in August 2009 when he was at McGuire.
“I remembered seeing a news report of a hangar at John F. Kennedy Airport (Hangar 17) in New York, which housed all the artifacts from 9/11,” Beason said. “So I did some digging around on the Internet and got hold of Jan Ramirez. She was one of the head people working on the 9/11 museum. With it being closed to the public, I figured it was a long shot, but I asked anyway if I could go see it.
“So I called her and told her my story and explained to her why I wanted to see the artifacts. She then gave me Peter Miller’s contact numbers. He was the actual custodian of the hangar. So I called him and told him the story, and asked if I could come up and see it. He agreed and so I brought up a few other first sergeants with me.
“We spent about four hours in the hangar looking at the variouspieces of steel and just trying to accept the whole situation.
“Near the end of the tour Peter gave us, he led us to one certain piece. It was section M-2 — the section that the first plane hit. Words cannot describe that moment,” Beason said.
“I told Peter that I wanted to take some steel to Afghanistan with me. He told me that it would take a long time to get the request through the legal channels. But he did say he had a friend. His friend was Lee Ielpi, whose son was a firefighter who was killed when the towers fell,” the sergeant said. “I was able to talk to Ielpi, and then he put me in contact with Carl Sheetz.
“He was a firefighter from Rescue 1, the squad that is designed to rescue firefighters. Carl told me that I could get some steel from the New York Fire Academy to take to Afghanistan. So the next week, a few of us went up there to get the steel. When we got there, Carl told us his story of 9/11 and how he lost 101 of his buddies that day,” he explained.
“I told him that it is our duty to not let the events of that day be forgotten. As he looked into my eyes, I saw a tear in his,” Beason said.
“He told me to make sure we (the military) never forget, because some in New York had already begun to forget,” he said.
“Out of the steel we got from the fire academy that day, I took two pieces to Afghanistan,” Beason continued. “One is at McGuire and the other one I kept.
“When I returned from Afghanistan in January 2011, a fellow first sergeant, Pat Ellison, asked me what the heck was so heavy in this certain container. I told him it was an actual piece of the World Trade Center. He told me it looked a lot like the state of Arkansas. As we took a closer look, it looks remarkably like the state outline.
“So in late 2009, when we were cutting up the steel at the New York Fire Department Academy, we actually cut this steel up in the shape of Arkansas...unintentionally. It was never planned that way. That made me want to donate it to the base instead of keep it for myself,” he said.
“The second piece was originally meant for the 438rd Air Expeditionary Wing in Kabul, Afghanistan. That’s the unit I was assigned to while I was deployed. Since I already got a piece over there, I asked the lawyers from the Port Authority to redirect it to Arkansas and the 19th Airlift Wing.
“After all the dust settled, the wing was awarded it,” the sergeant said. ““I know some folks that work for FedEx in New Jersey and I was able to get it shipped here at no cost. It arrived here the day after the tornado struck. And the day I got notified that nine of my best friends were killed in Afghanistan....the same unit the steel was supposed to go to in the first place.
“Call it fate or whatever, but those two pieces of steel were destined for this base, I believe. And with the help of a few other folks with passion, it’s going to stand proud in Building 430, the Little Rock Air Force Base building that houses the deployment line, so that every deployer stepping out the door to deploy, will never forget.
“Throughout this ordeal, I’ve been told, ‘No, that can’t be done,’ or, ‘You can’t do that,’ plus a host of other excuses...but I wasn’t going to stop. It’s worth it to me,” Beason said.
“It’s often said that one person with passion can accomplish more than 40 people with just an interest,” he continued. “That’s so true. This was easy for me, and for the folks who are behind the scenes making it happen. Without them and their passion, we wouldn’t be discussing this.
“They all represent the virtues and the values that America and the Air Force so desperately need right now: sacrifice and selflessness, honor and decency. That’s why they’re here today. That’s what they represent.”
