First responders honor World Trade Center beam arriving at Boston fallen heroes memorial

The Tunnel to Towers Steel Across America tour honored fallen heroes in Boston on Wednesday as part of a nationwide tour slated to finish in New York City just after Sept. 11.

The group brought a preserved 21-foot steel beam from the South Tower of the World Trade Center — which has been on tour since May — to the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston's Seaport.

"For us as first responders and veterans, what this means as we come up on the 25th anniversary is personal. It's all about educating the next generation and not forgetting the sacrifices, not only made on 9/11 but what we've endured in the 20 years after in all theaters of combat," said Dan Magoon, executive director of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes.

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Guests pay their respects Wednesday as they approach a 21-foot, 16,900-pound steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center's South Tower during the Steel Across America tour at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston's Seaport. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)

Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S. Winter Olympics hockey team that won the historic "Miracle on Ice" game against the Soviet Union, honored his friends who were passengers on one of the hijacked planes involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"It touched the heart of our country. It touched the souls of our country," Eruzione said of Tunnel to Towers, which helps 9/11 families, first responders, and veterans rebuild in part from funds raised through nationwide charity runs.

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Guests stand in front of the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston on Wednesday. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)

The gathering brought together first responders from Massachusetts as well as law enforcement. Guests were allowed to approach the 16,900-pound beam and pay their respects.

"It's just crazy to think about where it once stood, the people that worked inside the buildings, the people that rushed inside to save those people, and what happened when it all came down," said Daniel McCarthy, a Bostonian whose parents are from New York.

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American flags on a grassy area at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)

The beam was brought to Fenway Park on Wednesday night after traveling to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Monday.

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On Sept. 8, the tour will stop at the White House in Washington, D.C.