WTC steel that remained standing in 9/11 aftermath returns to the place 'they were born.' (Updated)

Hundreds of tons of remnant steel from the 2001 World Trade Center disaster has arrived home. That home may not be where you think.

According to an Associated Press report by Joann Loviglio, more than two dozen flatbed trucks loaded with 500 tons of WTC structural steel has arrived in Coatesville, Pa., where the massive supports called "steel trees" were made more than four decades ago, forged by Lukens Steel Co. in 1969. The steel framed the perimeter of the 110-story twin towers' first nine floors and lobbies before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks destroyed the skyscrapers. Now two mammoth waterfalls that are part of the 9/11 Memorial are being built within the original footprints of the towers. The eight-acre memorial opens next year.

Update: The Reporter provides heartfelt video and telling pictures of the WTC steel "homecoming."

Scott Huston, a descendant of the Lukens family and president of a Coatesville historic preservation group, told the AP:

"It's our goal to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, as well as the steelworkers who created the steel for these monumental buildings."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, donated the steel supports to the Pennsylvania town. The Port also is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar.

Several large pieces of WTC steel will be part of the exhibition experience of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2012.  The well-known 58-ton Last Column, recovered from ground zero, has already been installed at the site as construction on the museum continues.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial