9/11 memorial on display at Puyallup Fair

Amid fun and festivities at the Puyallup Fair Tuesday, attendees will have an opportunity to reflect on the 11-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Spirit of America Memorial, which may take up permanent residency at the state capitol in Olympia, began a three-day run at the fair on Monday.

“It’s very emotional,” said a woman who stopped to take photos. “It just makes you think about a lot of things; the country, people.”

John Jackson, an army veteran and welder, founded the Spirit of America Foundation and has been working to make the memorial a reality for more than a decade.

“So our citizens will have some place to go to have closure for this; to deal with what’s happening,” Jackson said. “When I first started this, I told my wife […] I have to either commit to this and have this be part of my life for the next 10 years or so, or I need to just let it die and walk away from it.”

The memorial features four bronze figures – a firefighter, flight attendant, military officer and office worker – sculpted by Jim Demetro, an internationally-acclaimed artist.

The bottom of the figures are charred, symbolizing how the country rose from the ashes of 9/11, Jackson said. The statues look out and away, which “symbolizes looking into the winds of change,” and the figures hold hands as a sign of “unity.”

Also included in the memorial is a steel column from the World Trade Center and a block of limestone from the Pentagon.

Many fairgoers Monday simply rested their hands on the remnants.

“Most people are just kind of in awe,” Jackson said. “(They’re) quiet, reserved, reflective.”

Perhaps the most powerful part of the memorial, however, is the part that can’t be seen. Two figures stand with their hands outstretched, but there is no one there to hold them. Instead, two bronze footprints have been placed on the ground to represent the “missing man,” allowing visitors a chance to interact with the monument.

“It gives you an opportunity as a citizen to step up there into those footprints, reach out on both sides, and you grab the hands of these figures,” Jackson said. “The missing man represents those that were lost, taken from us, never to be recovered; bodies that were never found.”

As it awaits approval for permanent placement on the campus of the state capitol in Olympia, the Spirit of America Foundation is raising funds for the memorial. It will be on display in the Blue Gate Plaza at the fair through Wednesday, September 12.