Honoring the fallen: Jackson Fire Rescue plans 9/11 memorial

Jackson Fire Rescue is working to build a memorial to the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania.

Placed prominently on the station lawn between the parking lot and the fire engine garage, the planned memorial will have a pentagon-shaped base, two black "towers" inscribed with names of those who died in the 2001 attacks, three flagpoles, a statue of a kneeling firefighter facing the towers, and benches, said firefighter Sam Herndon.

A brick pathway from the station parking lot to the memorial will have names of fallen firefighters from Cape Girardeau County, Herndon said.

The scale and size of the memorial will depend on how successful fundraising is, Herndon said, adding the base could be as much as 20 feet on each side.

It will be lighted at night, and "highly visible" from the East Jackson Boulevard/Highway 61 intersection, he added.

The idea was born after last year's 9/11 commemoration, said Capt. Ryan Davie. Every year for the past four years, he said, the department has tried to find a creative, meaningful way to honor the sacrifice of the firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11.

"We want to honor the fallen not only as firefighters, but as Americans," Herndon said.

Davie and Herndon said they both remembered the attacks, but realized a junior in high school this year might have been, at most, a year old on the day of the attacks.

"We want them to help remember, and learn facts," Herndon said, adding he hopes the department can hold small educational events at the memorial as well.

The first two years of commemorations, Davie said, SoutheastHEALTH sponsored a firefighter in full gear on a stair machine for a set amount of time to mark each of the 343 firefighter deaths.

Then last year, the fire department marched from Interstate 55 to the fire station, 3.43 miles, in full gear, to commemorate 9/11, Davie said.

Herndon said the department has been slowly letting the word out about the fundraiser for the planned memorial: in June, the department held a car wash, he said, and the response was overall very positive.

Then, Friday, at the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast, the department announced the fundraiser to Jackson's business community.

"The positive feedback was unbelievable from the Chamber of Commerce," Davie said.

Herdon added, "We're hoping to hit the ground running with this."

Pledge forms are available at Jackson Fire Rescue administrative building at 525 S. Hope St. in Jackson, or may be printed from the department's Facebook page, Davie said, adding the forms are geared toward business donations, but if someone would like to donate to honor a family member, that is welcome, too.

Questions may be directed to Sam Herndon at (573) 243-1010 or sherndon@jacksonfire.org.

"This is Jackson," Herndon said. "We want to make this as good as we can."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630