Community members raising money for Sept. 11, 2001, memorial at Red Run Park

April 19, 2012|By JENNIFER FITCH | waynesboro@herald-mail.com

Herald-Mail file photo

WAYNESBORO, Pa. — Through contributions of all sizes, community members are providing the funds needed to create a Sept. 11, 2001, memorial at Red Run Park in Washington Township, Pa.

The memorial will feature artifacts from the three sites of the terrorist attacks. According to the Associated Press, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.

Washington Township officials obtained a steel beam from ground zero, Pentagon debris and a rock from Shanksville. They are working with a committee of volunteers to design and develop a memorial housed in a pavilion-like structure with informational signs.

As of Thursday afternoon, donations toward the $110,000 project totaled $6,493.27 from more than 50 people and organizations.

Washington Township Manager Mike Christopher said donations have ranged from $20 to $1,000.

Donation cans at businesses throughout the community have brought in about $200, he said.

Some donors cited their reasons for their desire to contribute.

Lantern Post 729 of the 29th Division Association particularly wanted to recognize the police officers and firefighters who gave their lives, Commander Don Fitz said.

Fitz described Sept. 11, 2001, as a “critical day.”

“It turned into a war on terror. You’ve got to remember all the soldiers, sailors and Marines that died because of that,” said Fitz, who lives in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.

The 29th Division Association is tied to a Maryland National Guard division and has about 105 members nationwide.

Bernie McGarity, who owns The Meadows, told memorial committee members he wants to be a catalyst for other business people. He developed a promotion in which the custard shop on North Church Street will donate $1 from each banana split sold in May.

“Like most people, 9/11affected me greatly,” said McGarity, of Waynesboro.

The memorial will be a “peaceful, nice reflecting place” where generations of children can learn about what happened, McGarity said.

“It’ll be a place to reflect and count your blessings,” he said.

Fitz was working in Carroll Valley, Pa., when he first saw television coverage of the attacks.

“To me, it was about the same as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was a senseless act that cost thousands of lives,” he said.

McGarity was driving near Dulles International Airport inWashington, D.C., when he heard on talk radio that planes had been grounded because of terrorist attacks. McGarity said he lowered his vehicle’s window and felt strange when he did not hear planes.

“I got the eeriest feeling when there weren’t any airplanes in the air,” he said.

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