The memorial has two vertical twenty-two foot beams from the World Trade Center along with a two polished black granite panels with inscriptions. Along with these major elements are smaller granite monuments with the time-line of events on 9-11.
The large granite panels are inscribed:
September 11, 2001 We Will Never Forget
"Thousands Of Lives Were Suddenly
Ended By Evil, Despicable Acts Of Terror.
The Pictures Of Airplanes Flying
Into Buildings, Fires Burning, Huge
Structures Collapsing Have Filled
Us With Disbelief Terrible Sadness
And A Quiet, Unyielding Anger"
- President George W. Bush
As The Soot And Dirt And Ash Rained Down,
We Became One Color.
As We Carried Each Other Down The Stairs Of The Burning Building,
We Became One Class.
As We Lit Candles Of Waiting And Hope,
We Became One Generation.
As The Firefighers And Police Officers Fought Their Way Into The Inferno,
We Became One Gender.
As We Fell To Our Knees In Prayer For Strength,
We Became On Faith.
As We Whispered Or Shouted Words Of Encouragement,
We Spoke One Language.
As We Gave Our Blood In Lines A Mile Long,
We Became One Body.
As We Mourned Together The Great Loss,
We Became One Family.
As We Cried Tears Of Grief And Loss,
We Became One Soul.
As We Retell With Pride Of The Sacrifice Of Heroes,
We Become On People.
We Are
One Color
One Class
One Generation
One Gender
One Faith
One Language
One Body
One Family
One Soul
One People
We Are The Power Of One.
We Are United.
We Are America.
- Cheryl B. Sawyer Ed.D.