LIMA, Pa.—May 27, 2014—Pilot Freight Services, a worldwide provider of transportation and logistics services, has been dubbed the “Official Carrier of the Freedom Bell” by The Spirit of Liberty Foundation. At the foundation’s request, Pilot has delivered the Freedom Bell from its place of honor at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, to the Indy 500 in Indianapolis for a Memorial Day salute to U.S. Armed Forces.
“The Freedom Bell is quickly becoming an important American icon. In just the past year since it was created, over 250,000 people have seen and rung the bell, and it was important to the foundation to give fans of the Indy 500 the opportunity to ring the bell in honor of our armed forces,” said Richard Rovsek, chairman of the Spirit of Liberty Foundation. “When other major shippers and forwarders were unable to help us, someone immediately said, ‘call Pilot Freight Services.’”
“As a family-owned business that is proud to work closely with U.S. Armed Services on a regular basis, we were happy to help The Spirit of Liberty Foundation with this move,” said John Hill, executive vice president of Pilot Freight Services. “This type of unique, oversized shipment is perfect for our expertise, and I have to give a big thanks to our Honolulu and Indianapolis stations, which handled either end of the delivery process.”
The Freedom Bell was cast on June 6, 2013, the 69th anniversary of D-Day, with full military honors. The bell symbolically contains metal from the Twin Towers, and features the official emblems of each branch of the Armed Forces, embossed on the bell in the order of their founding: Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force. It is inscribed with the words “Honoring our Armed Forces Past, Present and Future.”