At FDIC, Halton Issues a Call for a “Fitting and Proper” 9/11 Memorial
By Shannon Pieper

At today’s opening keynote at FDIC, Bobby Halton, the education director for FDIC and the editor-in-chief for Fire Engineering, issued a rousing call for a 9/11 monument that properly recognizes first responders.

Halton began by invoking the great monuments of our country—the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial. “They remind us that this nation has always stood for that which is good,” Halton said. “And the fire service has too.” But Halton lamented how today’s media often concentrate on people who are far from heroic—the “lesser angels”—drawing attention away from those who exhibit principles, values and character.

That is why, Halton says, “We must build monuments that recognize things that are noble.” Specifically, he said, the Freedom Towers memorial at the World Trade Center is a memorial to all those who died—which is “fitting and proper”—but he argued forcefully that it must go further.

“No one knows that there are two groups of people who died that day better than you,” he told the audience. “A separate and distinct memorial is needed to recognize those that weren’t taken, but gave their lives.”

For Halton, the conflict over the WTC memorial and how first responders should be recognized isn’t a matter of politics or aesthetics—it’s a matter of an age-old battle of good vs. evil. “If we fail to recognize why they were there … if we ignore the examples of higher character, evil wins,” he said. Further, Halton sees the monument as directly tied to the 9/11 pledge. “In an er of broken promises … firefighters made a promise that we intend to keep—we will never forget,” he said.
 
Ultimately, Halton urged the audience that they have a choice: “Are our communities filled with nondescript buildings … or monuments that inspire and recognize? You decide.”

Shannon Pieper is senior deputy editor for FireRescue magazine.


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