Eventually the stainless steel was molded into bracelets, then stamped by Penn United Technologies.
The bracelets were sold for $10, and McCoy believes they were sold out, raising $1 million for a memorial to those who perished when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stoneycreek Twp., Pa.
The Boeing 757–222 aircraft was hijacked by four al-Qaida terrorists as part of the Sept. 11 attacks.
It subsequently crashed during an attempt by some of the passengers to regain control.
It is widely presumed the intended target was the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
A permanent memorial at the crash site is scheduled for completion this year.
McCoy called the fundraising “a very worthwhile endeavor.”
The bracelet inscription reads: “We Remember 9-11-01 United We Stand,” and on the side its says, “Let’s Roll,” the last words spoken by one of the passengers, and “USA.”
Inside the bracelet is inscribed: “This steel was donated by AK Steel.”
Paul Scorti, 75, who retired from AK Steel 11 years ago after 30 years on the No. 4 aluminize line, said at one time, he owned several of the bracelets, but he gave them away to family and friends.
Even if he owned 1,000 of them, Scorti said “they’d be gone” by now.
Sept. 11, 2001 is a “very dark day in our country’s history,” McCoy said.
When Scorti thinks of the terrorist attacks, he “can’t believe, can’t imagine it happened” and he prays those killed that day are in heaven.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.
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