Widow Aims to Finish Husband's 9/11 Memorial Project

Widow Aims to Finish Husband's 9/11 Memorial Project
Written for the web by Alicia Malaby, Anchor-Reporter

When JoAnn Davis visits the Septemeber 11th Memorial Plaza at Cal Expo she feels a sense of pride and patriotism. Her late husband, Larry Davis, a former Cal Expo board member, came up with the idea for the memorial after watching images of the terrorist attacks unfold on television. "This was Larry's dream," JoAnn Davis said. "He said it was his legacy to do this." She is now hoping to raise the $600,000 needed to finish the project that is two-thirds complete.In 2001, Larry Davis, who was the Director of the California Exposition and State Fair, contacted New York City officials about donating wreckage from the World Trade Center to be used for a monument. The monument's largest piece is a massive I-Beam, weighing 2000 pounds per foot. It was extracted from the rubble of the North Tower where it served as a support beam for the second floor. The beam offers state fair visitors a close-up look at the devastation. Fred Vaughn of Lodi is one of those who has stopped to ponder the vivid reminder. "It really strikes a sad core in your heart. It's just terrible."In addition to the I-Beam, fair visitors marvel at the Granite Sphere, a fountain with a floating sphere engraved with the names of the 3,071 people who were killed on 9/11. The memorial also contains two Reflection Towers and a Carillon Bell Tower with 23 bells inscribed with the words, "Let Freedom Ring." JoAnn Davis said her late husband was working to secure funding for two additional plaza memorials, one to honor the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed into a Pennsylvania field, and the other to remember the 184 people who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. She says, "He just didn't want people to forget what had happened to us because it affected the whole world. It changed the whole world."A non-profit foundation has been set up to accept donations. A link to the September 11th Memorial Plaza Foundation is listed above.