Today we commemorate the new 9/11 Memorial to honor all those who perished on that tragic day 10 years ago. The memorial is a quiet, reflective, somber and appropriate design to memorialize the footprints of the Twin Towers and the many innocent victims who worked in those buildings. While the memorial does contain the names of the first responders who died, I feel it does not go far enough to pay the unique tribute to the men and women who went into those buildings with the firm knowledge they would not return. For them, I propose a new memorial to be located at the foot of Manhattan off of Battery Park called the Statue of Bravery.
The Statue of Bravery will take the form of a 180' tall colossus of an American Bald Eagle. The Eagle spreads its nearly 750' wide wingspread over the memorial symbolizing both protection and also the moment before it takes flight. At the base of the statue is a granite shield which takes elements of both the shields of the NYPD and FDNY. The shield will be inscribed with the date IX-XI-MMI. The statue sits upon a podium in the shape of a pentagon to foster a connection to the attack on the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. Water will cascade down a niche in the face of the pedestal, framing an eternal flame. The sides of the pedestal are inscribed with the names of the 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 members of the NYPD, 37 Port Authority PD, and 8 EMT's. The statue and pedestal rest on a plaza framed by ten 50' tall Corinthian columns. On the entablature on top of the columns are the words, "All Gave Some, Some Gave All."
This memorial as proposed would instantly become an icon on the Manhattan skyline and New York Harbor taking it's place alongside but in deference to the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Bravery is the fitting tribute to the first responders of September 11 they deserve.
