Legacy Matters

The Firefighters' Memorial

The first large scale 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero, The Firefighters'  Monument at "10 house" can be seen at a wonderful interactive display the New York Times presents.

It's a 56-foot-long bronze bas relief that weighs about 7000 pounds.  Martin Rambusch of Rambusch Decorating Company, the firm that  designed and fabricated the monument,  narrates and describes the work and the monument.

Take back the memorial has more including this quote from Mayor Giuliani at the unveiling.

He later blasted city, state and federal officials for failing to build a memorial at Ground Zero nearly five years after the terrorist attacks… “Forget about the buildings, the office space - that should all come second,” he said. “The focus has to be on the memorial. Get it right. Future generations will respect us for that.”

While politicians continue to dicker over the Ground Zero memorial, firefighters quietly built their own tribute to their 343 fallen brothers. Money was raised by law firm Holland & Knight, which lost one of its partners, volunteer firefighter Glenn Winuk, in the World Trade Center.

Take Back the Memorial is doing yeoman's work in keeping the true aims of a non-political memorial, telling the story of that fateful day at Ground Zero in clear view.

You can sign their online petition or submit your own comments through June 27.