Broken Arrow Police Department Chaplain Scott Keele counseled first responders at Ground Zero in 2001. Now, nearly two dozen of his artifacts anchor a 9/11 exhibit at The Museum of Broken Arrow.

The exhibit, titled "From BA to NYC," includes a Broken Arrow flag Keele carried to New York and his Port Authority of New York and New Jersey identification badge. Children's drawings and other items are also part of the collection, according to the Tulsa World. The display is on view at 400 S. Main St. in Broken Arrow through at least Friday, Sept. 25.

The exhibit is timed to the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Keele traveled to New York twice in 2001, first in October and again in December, to provide peer support to first responders, KTUL reported. The debris pile was still burning when he arrived in October. It was hot enough to melt shoes without proper equipment, and the smoke and smell followed workers after they left the site.

Keele and other chaplains walked Ground Zero and nearby respite areas, talking with police officers and first responders who had spent weeks doing recovery work. He told the Tulsa World that many had trouble opening up to counselors at first.

"You're from Oklahoma? … And then they felt like they could tell you," Keele said.

Responders recognized Oklahoma's history with the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. That shared experience broke through emotional walls.

Keele told KTUL in a Sept. 8 interview that the scale of Ground Zero was unlike anything he had experienced. He described his role simply: he was there to give responders somebody to talk to, somebody to listen.

The Broken Arrow flag he brought to New York was later displayed alongside an Oklahoma flag at a command post in New Jersey, according to KTUL. That flag is now part of the museum collection.

Keele had kept photographs and items from his time in New York for years before approaching the museum. Museum leaders expanded the display as the 25th anniversary approached, according to KTUL.

The Tulsa World described Keele reading from a journal entry dated Dec. 21, 2001, written during his second trip to Ground Zero. His journal and other personal records are among the pieces on display.

The exhibit reaches beyond Keele's personal story. Six Oklahomans died on Sept. 11, 2001, and their connections are represented in the collection. Students from Rhoads Elementary School made a video given to families who lost loved ones at Ground Zero. That video's story is also part of the display.

Upcoming community events

• "From BA to NYC" 9/11 exhibit: On display through at least Friday, Sept. 25, at The Museum of Broken Arrow, 400 S. Main St., Broken Arrow.