Marfa, Texas – It took 10 months, but Alpine Station Assistant Patrol Agent in Charge Lewis Reynolds’ plan for a memorial came to fruition on Sunday, September 11. Almost 700 people turned out for the unveiling of a twisted steel beam that had been carefully displayed as a reminder of the fateful 9/11 attacks.
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Reynolds’
plan resulted in a 4,300-mile trip to New York to pick up the World
Trade Center artifact. He and Supervisory Border Patrol Agent David
Marshall made the trip in a stake bed truck.
Upon
their return to Alpine, they were greeted with a solemn cavalcade of
law enforcement vehicles and a lot of hard work to prepare a resting
place for the beam.
With the assistance
of Field Operations Supervisor Brent Johnson and a number of off duty
agents, Marfa Sector facilities maintenance personnel and retired Border
Patrol agents, a concrete pad was poured. Lighting was installed and
proper steel mount was constructed. The mount is surrounded by a
beautifully welded aluminum pyramid.
Ironically, the ground breaking ceremony for the Alpine Station was held on the morning of September 11, 2001.
Brewster
County Judge Val Beard was the keynote speaker for the unveiling
ceremony. She was also present at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2001.
During her speech she emphasized the importance of the Marfa Sector in
the protection of the United States.
Chief
Patrol Agent John J. Smietana Jr., gave the memorial address and
reminded the audience that as the World Trade Center fell the Alpine
Station was rising to provide a beacon for the security of our nation.
Reynolds
described the monument as a symbol of the American people, “of our
ability to rise above the adversity, to come together to defeat our
enemies.”
The memorial is on the
grounds of the Alpine Station, and is open to the public. The station is
located west of Alpine, Texas, on Highway 90.
U.S.
Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the
Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and
protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of
entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out
of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
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