CLOVIS, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 This September will mark 25 years since the 9\/11 attacks that changed our country forever.<\/p>\n
For weeks and months, tributes poured out from all over the world, but one tribute stands, all these years later, on the West Coast \u2014 in the City of Clovis.<\/p>\n
More than 2,900 miles away from New York City, you\u2019ll find the second-largest 9\/11 memorial outside of the Big Apple, standing in the middle of a Clovis industrial park, where it’s been home to remembrance ceremonies every year since.<\/p>\n
Amazing America 250: California 9\/11 Memorial (Photo: FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Montelongo)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It was created by executives at what was, at the time, Pelco headquarters.<\/p>\n
“Having a surveillance company as a business, we did a lot of business in New York City,” said Julie DeBenedetto, Past President & Founding Member, The California 9\/11 Memorial. “You had to do something, right? That was the attitude. We had to do something.”<\/p>\n
In the span of two months, the first two pieces were in place \u2014 a granite stone explaining the impact of the attack on the United States, and a massive 110-foot-tall flagpole.<\/p>\n
“Which represents the 110 stories of the World Trade Center,” said Jim Stemler, Founding Board Member, The California 9\/11 Memorial.<\/p>\n
Since then, the memorial formed a non-profit, adding a replica Twin Towers with the names of first responders killed, a replica of the Pentagon, featuring the names of those killed when a hijacked plane crashed into it, including Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert of Lemoore, and a tribute to flight 93 and the passengers \u2014 including Fresno State graduate Todd Beamer \u2014 who took on hijackers with the phrase \u201cLet\u2019s roll\u201d before crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Each, with an explainer\u2014for good reason. “College graduates were not even born when this happened,” said Stemler.<\/p>\n
“We came up with the idea to add a QR code to each display,” said DeBenedetto.<\/p>\n
Then, there are the helpers, who ran into the danger, risking it all, including Officer Moira Smith, the NYPD\u2019s only female officer killed on 9\/11.<\/p>\n
“Where it’s placed, she\u2019s looking at her name at the top of the list on the World Trade Center,” said Stemler.<\/p>\n
There is also a Marine, wounded warriors, even the service dogs \u2014 nearly 300 who helped with search and rescue, therapy and, later, comfort, together, sitting under a living memorial.<\/p>\n
A clipping from a tree found at Ground Zero, severely damaged \u2014 that’s grown to be a symbol of resilience and survival.<\/p>\n
Much like this memorial that, as time passes, works to teach others about the events of that day, so they, too, will never forget.<\/p>\n
Less than two months after the attacks, Pelco paid for 1,100 first responders to visit the memorial, even in its infancy.<\/p>\n
Many told organizers, and those who still serve on the board today, the trip was a much-needed and well-appreciated escape.<\/p>\n
Donations have funded every piece of the memorial, and it’s still not complete.<\/p>\n
Board members say they’re now raising funds for a tribute to the civilians who lost their lives in the attacks.<\/p>\n