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Exhibit Keeps Memory Of Sept. 11 Alive

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By KAREN HAYMON LONG, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

Updated: 12/15/2007 02:16 am

TAMPA - Hillsborough County firefighter Brian Muldowney's oldest brother and cousin were killed in the World Trade Center attacks. On Friday, he joined 500 others at Legends Field to see a touring exhibit of a planned memorial and museum to honor those killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Construction has begun on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on eight of ground zero's original 16 acres. It's slated to open by the end of 2009.
Muldowney spent four months searching through the rubble of the Twin Towers. His brother, Richard Muldowney Jr., and his cousin, Kenny Watson, were both New York City firefighters with six children between them.

"After Sept. 11, everybody said to never forget, and this memorial is in keeping true to those words," he said before listening to Mary Fetchet and Lee Ielpi tell the crowd about the sons they lost in the attacks.

Along with hundreds of others, Muldowney signed steel beams that will be incorporated into the memorial and museum. Thousands of people already have signed the beams manufactured by Gerdau Ameristeel, the only Tampa-based corporate sponsor of the exhibit's visit here. The beams already had been in 24 cities on a national tour. Tampa is the last stop.

One child drew a tiny window filled with shattered glass. "I am sorry what has happened," she wrote, adding a little heart and a star. "I love you. Anjali."

Opening ceremonies for the three-day exhibit proved emotional, with the music of bagpipes wafting through the crowd, a moment of silence, three sharp rifle shots, then the sorrowful sound of a bugle playing taps, reminding all of the lost.

Hundreds of police officers, firefighters, government and military officials attended, along with schoolchildren and the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus.

Retired New York City firefighter Jim Barry of Bayonet Point was there with 20 other New York City Fire Department retirees who live in the Bay area. Barry lost 30 of his friends on Sept. 11 and looks forward to the permanent memorial.

"As people grow older," he said, "memories fade, people forget. The memorial will help them remember."

Large, color photographs line walls of the exhibit, alongside quotes from survivors and first responders. In a short video, survivors and men and women who lost relatives and friends in the attack share their memories of the terror.

On display in another room are other reminders of the tragedy: an FDNY helmet, shirt, mask and flashlight; a piece of steel and some aluminum from one of the towers; a dust-covered cell phone and watch donated by a man who got out alive.

Nathan Miller, a Boy Scout who led the Pledge of Allegiance during the opening, said he was 10 on Sept. 11, 2001. He was taking a math test when his teacher told the class what happened. Her eyes were red, he remembered, and though she explained to them what had happened, he didn't quite understand.

Like the men at the exhibit, he said he was glad a lasting memorial would be built for those who died that day.

"Every generation has its history, has a big story to tell," said Nathan, who's working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. "To forget is pointless. We shouldn't forget."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: National September 11 Memorial & Museum Touring Exhibit

WHEN and WHERE: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at Legends Field, 3802 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Tampa; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, across Dale Mabry Highway from Legends Field
ADMISSION: Free

INFORMATION: For details on the memorial and museum and on how to donate, go to www.national 911memorial.org.

Reporter Karen Haymon Long can be reached at (813) 259-7618 or klong@tampatrib.com.

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