As rain trickled down like tears from the skies above Saturday, a group of volunteer firefighters hung their heads in reverence as they remembered the sacrifices made by their brethren on that infamous September morning that claimed the lives of hundreds of courageous first responders.

Standing behind them during their vigil were two physical, tangible reminders of the devastation caused by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon — a pair of 6-foot-plus steel beams, taken from the rubble of the New York complex, that are now under the care of the Pokagon Township Fire Department.

The department dedicated its new 9/11 monument during a public ceremony in front of its station of Pokagon Highway Saturday just a few days shy of the 14th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, 343 of which were firefighters. The memorial features the two artifacts from the remains of the WTC, situated side by side as tribute to the twin towers that fell that day.

“There’s a certain feeling you get when you put your hands on those beams for the first time,” said Chief Chuck Bower. “[The events] just take on a whole other dimension.”

For the members of the volunteer fire department, Saturday’s dedication marks the culmination of a four-year journey to erect the monument, Bower said.

The project began after Bob Jones, a veteran captain with the Pokagon department, learned that the New York Port Authority had a program for distributing artifacts collected from ground zero to municipalities and nonprofits. After discussing it with Bower, Jones began the process of trying to acquire some of the artifacts for the department, he said.

“I thought they would be a nice addition to the community,” Jones said.

After spending nearly a year talking over the phone with attorneys and faxing countless forms, Jones was finally given the good news — that the port authority had granted them two steel beams for display at their station.

He was also told that department only had a few days to travel to New York to pick them up before the pieces would be given to someone else on the waiting list.

Jones, along with fellow Pokagon firefighter Jesse Bement, quickly hit the road with a pair of trucks and trailers to haul the pair of beams, which weigh a combined 2,500 pounds, across more than 700 miles between New York City and Dowagiac.

“It was kind of scary,” Jones said.

For three years, the beams sat in storage inside the local fire station, while the department members came up with ideas for a permanent public display for the artifacts, Bower said. Bement, a nine-year veteran of the station, volunteered to do much of the metalwork for the monument, creating the black metal bench in front of the display as well as welding the pillars of steel to its concrete base.

“It was very humbling to have these pieces of steel in my shop,” Bement said.

Bement and his family also provided much of the funding to make construction of the display possible. Several local businesses also contributed money and labor to the project, allowing the department to erect the monument without spending a dime of its operating funds, Bower said.

“I’m very proud of it,” Bement said. “It’s a good tribute, and I think people will appreciate it.”