9/11 memorial finally finds permanent home in Eastern Washington

A 9/11 memorial rejected by the state capitol in Olympia and several other cities has finally found a permanent home in the small Eastern Washington town of Cashmere.

The bronze sculpture features four figures, a fireman, a flight attendant, an office worker and a member of the military, holding hands and facing outwards. It incorporates steel from the World Trade Center and stone from the Pentagon.

Designers had hoped to install the memorial at the state Capitol, but officials there determined it wasn’t appropriate because it marks a national event rather than one directly related to the state.

Other cities in Western Washington including Kirkland rejected the memorial as well.

Dave Lewis with the Spirit of America Foundation, and his wife, have taken the memorial around the state on a trailer for nearly two years.

“We traveled almost 6,000 miles over 15 months. We were in 33 cities, 16 parades.”

But after all that time, the foundation decided to seek bids for a permanent home. Four cities in Eastern Washington bid for the rights to become the permanent home, with Cashmere coming out on top.

“Cashmere is kind of known as an All-American small city, we’re very patriotic,” said Cashmere Mayor Jeff Gomes.

Gomes said the city regularly goes all out for events like Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and the memorial is a perfect fit. American flags line the main street every day.

“There’s a lot of veterans here, they’ve always been acknowledged,” Gomes said. “This is just the type of thing that Cashmere does and supports and I think it was a great choice to have it here.”

Lewis said he’s thrilled the memorial finally has a new home. But he admitted he’s disappointed there was such little interest from Western Washington cities to host it.

“This memorial is important to honor all those who died on 9/11,” he said. “It stands for our freedom, that this is still a country that stands for freedom for the entire world. I think it’s even more so now that we have all of this going on in the Middle East.”

The sculpture is currently in storage in Cashmere. Planning is underway for a permanent exhibit in the city’s Riverside Park overlooking the Wenatchee River. The project has already raised over $24,000, with engineers and designers donating time to come up with construction plans, Gomes said.

The city will hold a small 9/11 ceremony Thursday without the sculpture. Organizers plan a formal dedication for Sept. 11, 2015.

“I think the whole community feels honored to have it here,” Gomes said.