More than 400 motorcyclists were among a winding convoy that made its way to Quantico from New York City on Saturday to pay homage to the 17 Marine reservists who were among the fallen firefighters at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

A supportive crowd waited at the National Museum of the Marine Corps as part of a tribute to the men who were among the 343 firefighters killed on the day of the worst terrorist attack in American history. At the center of the incoming procession were two steel beams recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center that were used in a monument dedicated to the fallen Marines.

One of the beams bore the emblem of the New York City Fire Department, while the other featured the familiar eagle, globe and anchor of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The monument, which can be found in the Semper Fidelis Park just outside the museum, was formally unveiled on Sunday morning before a large contingent of family, friends and Marines, with the names of each of the fallen Marines there for all to see.

“It’s great,” said Rob Daros, whose brother-in-law, Sean Tallon, was among those killed after terrorists commandeered two jetliners and flew them into the World Trade Center, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. “It was a big part of Sean, being in the Marines, so to have something here with his name on it means a lot.”

It was a very somber scene as the steel beams were unloaded from the truck and onto the monument’s base later Saturday evening, reaching its emotional climax when members of the Tallon family tightened the last bolts.

The moment proved equally as poignant for John Newman, a New York City firefighter now serving as president of the Fire Department of New York Marine Corps Association. Newman, a retired Marine colonel, was at home when the planes struck the towers, but, like so many of his comrades, rushed in without any hesitation to provide emergency services at what would come to be known as “Ground Zero.”

Tallon, who was 26 years old at the time of his death, was one of the many firefighters lost that day that Newman personally knew.

“We lost 343 firefighters that day,” Newman said. “One hundred fifty of them were my friends.”

The idea to build a monument in honor of those fallen firefighters who were Marines began six years ago, leading to the raising of the $50,000 needed for this past weekend’s events, Newman said.

Many of the motorcyclists were veterans or firefighters themselves and proud to have made the long journey to honor their own.

Manassas-based Gregory Construction provided the monument’s base.

The stirring story behind the monument is what Steve Igoe had in mind when he and his 13-year-old godson, Mason Matusek, made the trek to Quantico from Frederick, Maryland.

Igoe is close friends with a neighbor whose son enlisted in the Marine Corps immediately following 9/11 and was later killed in combat in 2005.

“It’s very emotional and very touching,” Igoe said of the weekend’s events. “[Mason] was just 6 days old when 9/11 happened, but it’s really important that he understand what those guys went through.”