INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana 9/11 Memorial Committee announced plans to expand the Memorial at 421 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis. A generous donation of $50,000 from the Indiana Department of the American Legion will be presented at a fundraiser kickoff on Friday, Sept. 11 to begin the effort to raise money for the $450,000 project. Donation information is located at www.Indiana911Memorial.org. Contributions are tax-deductible. No public funds are involved.
A check presentation is planned for 10 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Ohio Street site. In case of inclement weather, the event will be conducted at the Indiana War Memorial, 55 E. Michigan St. The public and media are encouraged to attend, while wearing masks and social distancing.
The Indiana 911 Memorial was built on the 10th anniversary of the attacks and was dedicated to the brave first responders and people who perished that day. Since that time, more than 5,000 U.S. military service members have died fighting terrorism and protecting our freedoms. The expansion project will highlight those heroes and honor U.S. Army Lieutenant General Tim Maude, a Hoosier serving at the Pentagon who was the most senior service member killed that day.
As it stands today, the memorial overlooking the Canal Walk on Ohio St. is comprised of two 11,000 lb. beams from the Twin Towers, one of which is capped with an eagle. Short markers note the events minute by minute on that fateful day, when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and hijacked another plane with the intent to fly it into another building. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania as the passengers overwhelmed the terrorists in the cockpit and flew it into the ground. A pair of six-foot tall granite walls stand behind the beams, inscribed with remembrances of that day when nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, and over 6,000 others were injured. Of the dead, 412 were first responders — firefighters, police, and emergency medical technicians.
The project will also include the addition of national and state flags and an 800-pound piece of Indiana limestone from the Pentagon crash site on the 30 by 10-foot memorial extension. A “Survivor Tree” from the World Trade Center will also be planted on site. The goal is to complete the extension and re-dedicate the site on the 20th anniversary on Sept. 11, 2021.
