First Responders Remembrance Memorial — Columbia, South Carolina

On September 11, 2011, a memorial to first responders was unveiled at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The memorial features two 25-foot-tall granite beams symbolizing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and two crossed steel beams salvaged from the World Trade Center site. The names of citizens and first responders who died heroically in the September 11, 2001 attack are etched in the memorial along with the names of Midlands first responders who have given their lives since that day.

Reflections on the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

Photographer Benton Henry shares his experience photographing the memorial at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center: “This shot was made early one fall evening with Dan Henningan (one of the driving forces behind the memorial). Pictured in the photograph are two granite towers representing the World Trade Center twin towers. The two crossed beams in the middle are two support beams that were recovered from the World Trade Center.”

Anna Garrison-Nemeth says of her above photo: “Had it not been for a tour group I was a part of, which happens to start its tour at the Memorial, I would not have known about the First Responders Remembrance Memorial. Like so many others, I vividly remember September 11, 2001. Having grown up as an Army brat and then being married to a military man, I knew very well what this meant for my husband, for our family, and for our country. The world as we knew it would never be the same. The First Responders Remembrance Memorial…a humble, yet powerful reminder of a sad, yet life-changing day in the history of the United States.”

Add your own reflections here.

First Responders Remembrance Memorial Map

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