Recovered piece of steel from the World Trade Center finds home at UVA

(WCAV) - Another piece of national history finds a permanent home in Charlottesville.

The University of Virginia dedicated a piece of steel from the World Trade Center Sunday. The piece was recovered after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The new display at UVA is meant to honor the 3,000 victims who lost their lives that day.

"We feel this memorial is a great way to bring their honor to campus and bring their memory back to grounds," said Evan Davis, a fourth year student at the University of Virginia and Charlottesville volunteer firefighter. He led the initiative to bring a piece of steel from the World Trade Center to school grounds.

"I felt that there was definitely a place here at UVA for a memorial like this," Davis said.


Instrumental in getting the steel was Bill Baroni. He is a 1998 graduate of UVA's Law School. He now serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"For generations to come, people will be able to come and see the physical manifestation of what we lost that day," Baroni explained.

The steel measures 15 inches long, and five inches tall. It will soon find a permanent home inside Newcomb Hall. For UVA students now, and in the future.

"We wanted to make sure that people all across the country, have the opportunity to see a piece of steel, remember the people who didn't get to come home that day," said Baroni.

"It'd be a great way to remember the events and remember the sense of unity that we all felt after the September 11th attacks," Davis explains.

The University of Virginia is one of about 13 schools across the country to house a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.