Wauconda in Lake County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Heroes of Freedom Memorial, Village of Wauconda

Never Forget

— September 11, 2001 —

Heroes of Freedom Memorial, Village of Wauconda Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 10, 2025

1. Heroes of Freedom Memorial, Village of Wauconda Marker

Inscription. The artifact before you is a column from the 91st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center and was provided to the Heroes of Freedom Memorial by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey through the efforts of Kirk Morris and his family in Memory of Pfc. Geoffrey Morris, United States Marine Corps, who made the ultimate sacrifice in Defense of our country.

To the memory of:
Those heartbreaking stories of unimaginable loss suffered by victims and their families on September 11, 2001 and to the sacrifices of those who were called to serve our nation thereafter.

To the memory of:
The Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians and Law Enforcement Personnel who lost their lives that day so that others could live, and to those who now stand ready to again make such sacrifices, including those members of the Armed Forces who have served in the subsequent Global War on Terrorism.

To the tenacity of:
The people of our great nation who, after suffering grievous loss and wounds, maintain enduring courage and stand tall again as "One Nation Under God".

Erected 2015 by Village of Wauconda.

Topics and series.

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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: 9/11 Attacks • Law Enforcement • War, 2nd Iraq • War, Afghanistan. In addition, it is included in the World Trade Center Beams series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 11, 2001.

Location. 42° 15.498′ N, 88° 8.344′ W. Marker is in Wauconda, Illinois, in Lake County. It is on Main Street south of Liberty Street (Illinois Route 176), on the right when traveling south. The plaque is right in front of the steel beam it references, inside Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wauconda IL 60084, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: American Airlines Flight 11 (here, next to this marker); United Airlines Flight 93

Heroes of Freedom Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 10, 2025

2. Heroes of Freedom Memorial

The rear of the memorial lists the names of people killed on 9/11. The four markers encircling the memorial detail the four hijacked flights.

(here, next to this marker); American Airlines Flight 77 (here, next to this marker); Path of Honor (here, next to this marker); United Airlines Flight 175 (here, next to this marker); World War II Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Wauconda Township World War I Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); MIA/POW Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wauconda.

More about this marker. The beam's base is shaped like a pentagon. The semi-circular memorial behind the beam, titled "Never Forget, September 11, 2001," lists all of the people who were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Encircling the beam itself near some benches are four more plaques dedicated to each of the four airplanes involved in the 9/11 attacks.

Regarding Heroes of Freedom Memorial, Village of Wauconda. Fourteen years after it crashed to the ground during the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City, this steel beam from the 91st floor of the World Trade Center was dedicated as the central feature in this 9/11 memorial in Wauconda, a village about 45 miles northwest of Chicago.

The beam

World Trade Center beam image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 10, 2025

3. World Trade Center beam

The beam was originally on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower.

had been given by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to a charitable organization created in honor of Geoffrey Morris, a resident of Gurnee, Illinois (about 17 miles northeast of here), who died in Iraq in 2004. Morris's father Kirk was a Gurnee village trustee and, according to news reports, the beam had been intended to be part of a memorial there. However, after delays in establishing that memorial, Wauconda offered to house the beam as part of a memorial in its downtown park.

Geoffrey Morris, according to his obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during his senior year at Gurnee's Warren Township High School, from which he graduated in 2003. He was deployed to Iraq in February 2004. He was 19 years old when he was killed on April 4, 2004, when the vehicle he was traveling in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Anbar Province, Iraq. He is buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Decatur, in Central Illinois.

Also see . . .
1. Marine Pfc. Geoffrey S. Morris. From "Honor the Fallen" by the Military Times. (Submitted on May 12, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Lake County News-Sun: World Trade Center beam centerpiece of 9/11 memorial in Wauconda.

Never Forget, September 11, 2001 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 10, 2025

4. Never Forget, September 11, 2001

The wall lists the people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Excerpt: “Morris said he was surprised to see the beam still had its original markings from when the tower was constructed. There are large dents and burn scars as well.”

“'Some of this dark stuff is from heat damage from the fire I was told,' Morris said while pointing at the beam. 'The forces that needed to happen to bring this down is just baffling.'”

(Submitted on May 12, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 12, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 216 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 12, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.