9-11 Memorial Begins 8-day ‘California Journey’

The Freedom’s Flame Memorial, a 16-ton steel tribute from the World Trade Center towers, along with a damaged NYFD firetruck that visited 18 states last summer, are on the road again – this time on a "California Journey."

The tour, which begins Sunday at a Rancho Cucamonga fire station, will pay special homage to the United States military on this trip, in observance of Memorial Day.
The Freedom’s Flame Memorial will make stops in 14 California cities to and from Sacramento, the state capital.
Driving the two 18-wheelers containing the twisted steel and the damaged firetruck will be Kentucky truckers Donnie and Diane Harper. The husband-and-wife driving team transported the firetruck and a piece of the World Trade Center across America last year. Reliable Trucking and Meritor are donating the use of the two rigs for the California tour, Diane Harper said Friday.
"Just looking at the wreckage will tear at your heart," she said.
The caravan’s itinerary includes Camp Pendleton Marine Base, Orange County, Long Beach, Burbank, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Santa Barbara, and Vandenberg AFB, Berkeley, Vacaville, Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy, Modesto, Fresno, Kern County and Victorville. Freedom’s Flame will arrive back in Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday, May 25.
The World Trade Center steel will be re-fabricated into the superstructure for a 35-foot tall Sept. 11th memorial called Freedom’s Flame. It is a gift from California to New York City in recognition of the sacrifice made by so many innocent people from New York City, the Pentagon and Shansksville, Pa.
A duplicate Freedom’s Flame Memorial will be located in the Southern California host city of Rancho Cucamonga. It is the only 9-11 memorial to feature remains from all three-crash sites. fo
The plan is for Freedom’s Flame to be an interactive memorial, allowing the public to walk among the 30 life-size figures included on the memorial. The estimated $12-million price tag to erect the memorial will come from private citizens and corporate America.
The idea for Freedom’s Flame grew from a concept by Dennis L. Stout, a former San Bernardino County district attorney and Vietnam veteran. Army veteran William Lecky, of A.I. Architects in Washington, D.C, designed the Freedom’s Flame Memorial. Lecky was the architect of record for the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial and the principal architect and designer of the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
The sculptor is Lawrence Noble, also an Army veteran, noted for his Officer Down Peace Officers’ Memorial and for the new California Firefighters’ Memorial in Capitol Park in Sacramento.
Following is the eight-day California schedule for the tour:
Sunday -- Rancho Cucamonga to National City to Camp Pendleton to Long Beach
Monday -- Long Beach to Pasadena to Santa Barbara
Tuesday -- Santa Barbara to Vandenberg to San Jose
Wednesday -- San Jose to Berkeley to Sacramento
Thursday -- Sacramento – all day - then on to Stockton
Friday --Stockton to Tracy to Modesto to Fresno
Saturday -- Fresno to Bakersfield
Sunday -- Bakersfield to Victorville to Rancho Cucamonga
For more information on the tour, or to make a donation to the Freedom's Flame Memorial, contact Capt. Sam Spagnolo, project director, at (909) 919-2910.
(Photo by Bette Garber)