On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Joey Burke saw the World Trade Center towers smoldering on his TV screen in Scranton, Pa.
That afternoon he was a driving a truckload of emergency supplies as close to New York City as he could get.
Today, Burke still drives semis, but his new rig carries a very different kind of load.
On Sunday, at the Big Things with Wheels — Part Two car show in Arvada, Burke’s “93 cents for Flight 93” truck was the main attraction.
The 93 cents truck’s appearance at the car show is one of the many projects working to raise money for a memorial to honor the 40 passengers and crew members of United Flight 93 who were killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks. Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa., after crew members and passengers attempted to take control of the plane from terrorists.
“It was scary. Everything just stopped that day. You had no idea what else was going to happen,” Burke said.
The 93 cents project along with merchants of Market Square in Arvada sponsored the event’s second year.
Every entry in the show was asked to donate 93 cents, but most donated $20 to $30, said Patrick Gross, head of the Denver branch of 93 cents for Flight 93.
There were more than 100 entries, which was double the number of participants last year, Gross said. Entries ranged from firetrucks to hot rods, tractors and remote-controlled cars.
The event raised about $1,200, Gross said.
“The memorial will serve as a way for people to visit and learn about what happened that day,” Gross said.
The 93 cents truck premiered in Shanksville on this year’s anniversary of the attacks.
The 53-foot-long, 18-wheeler bears a bald eagle’s head on the cab, and the 40 victims’ names are printed along both sides of the navy-blue trailer.
Matco donated $15,000 in vinyl decals, and the Pennsylvania-based Road Scholar Transport donated the $170,000 truck.
Burke, a 20-year employee of Road Scholar, said he drove the truck from Pennsylvania to Arvada. Next he will drive it to Monument and then to Ohio.
“A lot of people don’t know the whole story behind that day,” Burke said of Sept. 11.
Educating youths about the sacrifices made by everyone aboard Flight 93 is one of 93 cents’ goals, and it is another reason why Burke joined the project.
“I don’t want those heroes to be forgotten,” he said.
Burke will continue to drive the 93 cents truck across the country until the group reaches its $30 million goal, he said.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1638 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
