Corrected: Material of the base of the monument and Jay Ketchum’s name.
PORT ANGELES — Both construction and fundraising are on track for the dedication of a 9/11 monument in Francis Street Park on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Volunteers are working hard to have a 9-foot-long I-beam from the fallen World Trade Center installed on a concrete pedestal beside an existing public safety monument in Francis Street Park in time for the 2 p.m. dedication ceremony.
Donations
Community donations have come in to cover the $2,500 needed to pay remaining bills and to provide a small contingency fund, said Alan Barnard, chairman of the one-man Public Safety Tribute Committee that erected the existing 9/11 monument at Francis Street Park in 2002.
“We have met our basic funding goals and have a little money left over for maintenance,” Barnard said Friday.
“We can use a little more for ongoing maintenance and repairs.”
Alex Anderson of Alex Anderson Concrete plans the second of three donated concrete pours for the monument this week.
He and Bob Stokes, a Port Angeles artist who also is donating his work to the project, have made up a special mold for the second pour, Barnard said.
The schedule for the 45-minute ceremony Sept. 11 will include the singing of the national anthem by Port Angeles city spokeswoman Teresa Pierce and speeches by public safety officers.
A Coast Guard flyover is planned, as well as a color guard ceremony that will include the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Port Angeles High School ROTC students.
Linda Dowdell of Sequim who lived close to Ground Zero at the time of the attack will give a firsthand account of what that day was like, Barnard said.
Coast Guardsmen
Andrew Moravec, one of two Coast Guard servicemen who worked for years to bring the I-beam from Ground Zero to Port Angeles, will attend.
Sam Allen, a Coast Guard helicopter mechanic who worked with Moravec — who is stationed at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles — hopes to be here.
Allen had just finished a four-year assignment in Port Angeles and was transferred to a duty station in Puerto Rico the day after the beam arrived in Port Angeles in July.
He missed the beam’s tour of the county, which drew onlookers in Sequim, Port Angeles, Clallam Bay, Neah Bay and Forks.
But he hopes to return for the ceremony, Barnard said.
“Sam and Andrew had the idea and went through two years of paperwork,” Barnard said.
First monument
Barnard will talk about the first monument, which was dedicated Sept. 11, 2002 — and how it ties in with the new addition.
“About two weeks after 9/11, I was feeling frustrated, angry and helpless,” as many people were, Barnard said.
“It occurred to me there was nothing in this county to recognize the sacrifices made by public safety personnel every day,” he explained.
“My vision was to have a permanent monument that acknowledged their contributions to our quality of life every day.”
Barnard said he wanted to install a second phase of the monument but couldn’t raise the money for the plaques he hoped to erect.
He hoped to find the right opportunity to finish the area dedicated to public safety.
He found that opportunity in an April Peninsula Daily News story about Moravec’s and Allen’s accomplishment — and their need for a nonprofit to sponsor the artifact’s delivery to Port Angeles.
“I knew that was the perfect way to finish out the park,” Barnard said.
Allen and Moravec initiated the effort to bring the I-beam to Port Angeles after reading in the PDN that some of the wreckage recovered from Ground Zero was available for display as memorials throughout the nation.
The Port Angeles Fire Department Auxiliary provided the sponsorship, while Barnard revived the Public Safety Committee to carry out the plans.
Jay Ketchum of Affordable Crane, Port Angeles engineer Steve Zenovic and artist Gray Lucier are also among the volunteers donating their talents to the project.
Two in Clallam County
The I-beam will not be the only piece of Ground Zero in Clallam County.
The Sequim Police Department will bring another back in time for display in Sequim on Sept. 11.
Some 1,800 to 2,000 pieces were available for carting away, at the recipient’s expense, from Ground Zero to places throughout the nation, reports have said.
Of those, two will end up in Clallam County.
“To have two in this county says something about the patriotism of this county,” Barnard said.
Donations, which are fully IRS-deductible, can be made out to the Public Safety Tribute Committee and sent to P.O. Box 845, Port Angeles, WA, 98362.
For any questions or further information, Barnard can be reached at 360-461-0175.
