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9/11 Artifact Moving To Connellsville

CONNELLSVILLE (KDKA) -- A revered artifact from the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks is in southwestern Pennsylvania.

A large rusted steel plate has been moved from a hanger at JFK Airport in New York to Connellsville, Fayette County.

After crews excavated Ground Zero, the Port Authority of New York allowed more than 1,000 groups to receive an artifact. One of them was the Patriots in Connellsville.

"This almost still seems surreal to be able to see with this loading to know where that steel came to know what our nation has endured and to know we're going to take it home," Linda Schearer, Patriots founder, said.

Schearer, a high school teacher in Connellsville, founded the group just after 9/11.

The artifact they received came from the north tower of the World Trade Center and it was used to support ductwork between floors. Now it will be constructed as a monument at the high school during renovation.

"A lot of the students that are there currently were maybe five or 6-years-old at the time," Gary Wendell, vice president of the Patriots, said. "Even though this is still fresh in our minds, this is something that is really from their past."

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