Columns of marble and granite represent the Twin Towers in two area memorials, while a 26,000-pound slab of Indiana limestone forms a natural monument in Kettering.
Here are five monuments to 9/11 that stand in the region:
Calamityville, the National Center for Medical Readiness
A concrete slab stands tall next to a steel artifact from one of the World Trade Center towers. In relief on the slab are the outline of the towers above an inscription reminding all to never forget that day.
Surrounding the monument is a base in the shape of a pentagon.
Beavercreek 9/11 Memorial
1153 N. Fairfield Road, Beavercreek
A three-ton piece of steel, twisted and burnt, extends more than 25 feet into the sky along North Fairfield Road. At the steel monument, once part of one of the world’s largest structures, are two granite pillars representing the World Trade Center buildings.
Educational materials and a timeline of events line the walkway to the monument.
The city describes the memorial as a “gathering to honor those who tragically lost their lives, including many brave firefighters, police officers and paramedics who made the supreme sacrifice in their performance of duty.”
"We also want to honor the military and the families of those who lost their loved ones and currently have sons and daughters, husbands and fathers in Harm's Way.”
Kettering’s Memorial for 9/11
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
Artist John Van Alstine’s stone sculpture, “Memorial for 9/11,” is located at Lincoln Park’s Seitz Plaza.
The 26,000-pound sculpture, made from Indiana limestone and welded steel, is part of Kettering's CitySites public art collection and is designed as both a gathering and sitting space and a solar calendar. The solar noon sun aligns with the stylus on the monument on Sept. 11 each year.
The Warren County 9/11 Memorial
Warren County Government Center, Memorial Drive, Lebanon
This memorial features a piece of I-beam from the World Trade Center and two nine-foot granite columns representing the Twin Towers.
The names of two people with Warren County ties, Wendy Faulkner and Rob Peraza, are engraved on one of two granite benches that overlook the memorial.
Freedom Grove 9/11 Memorial
A burnt and twisted beam stands upright in the middle of a circular base in Freedom Grove, a six-acre park in Urbana.
The 12-foot steel support beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center was designed by Urbana artist Mike Major and established by the Rotary Club of Urbana. It was dedicated Sept. 11, 2011.
“It’s a living reminder of the price of freedom. Freedom is not free,” said Maj. Gen. Francis Hazard, a member of the Urbana Rotary Club, in 2011 when the beam arrived in Urbana.
About the Author