From the Ashes of 9/11, a Vision Becomes Reality

The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks will be deeply poignant and solemn for a wide swath of America. It will be that and more for Lexington County resident Dan Hennigan. 

For Hennigan, a 60-year-old Brooklyn native and retired Army captain who moved to Lexington County in 2005, it will be the culmination of a dream.

For the past two years, Hennigan has had an all-consuming passion -- to memorialize the dead from that day, especially the 416 first-responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11., as well as all first responders and military personnel in the S.C. Midlands who have lost their lives since then. 

At last count, 47 Midlands law officers, firefighters, medics and military men and women have died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001.

Hennigan said he was spurred to action on Sept. 10, 2009 while attending a ceremony for first responders in New York. Standing inches away from the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance and listening to a S.C. middle school student read an essay on 9-11, it struck him. "I said to myself I'm going to build a memorial for South Carolina."

And he has. The First Responders Remembrance Memorial, it's centerpiece consisting of two pieces of twisted metal beams from the World Trade Center's north tower, will be unveiled and dedicated in a massive ceremony at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center this Sept. 11 beginning at 3 p.m.

The ceremony will feature the military, along with police, fire and EMS contingents from Lexington and Richland counties, military and law enforcement flyovers, and numerous notable speakers, including S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. 

Though Hennigan's dream could not have been fulfilled without the help of donors, Midlands businesses, local governments, and others who shared his vision and donated their time and efforts to make the memorial a reality, it will largely be a day and an event born through one man's tenacity.

The memorial will feature two 25 foot granite towers and the 2 steel beams, which will be crossed, symbolizing how the country united after the attacks. 

The memorial will include the names of all of the victims of the attack on New York City, both citizens and first responders, who gave their lives in New York that day, along with the names of all the South Carolina Midlands first responders (police, fire, EMS, and military) who have lost their lives in the line of duty since that morning in 2001.

"That day changed the world," says Hennigan. "It has changed everything we do."

However, as monumental as the 9/11 attacks were, Hennigan fears the nation runs the risk of becoming complacent. Perhaps this memorial, and this milestone anniversary, can help prevent that, he says. 

"I remember shortly after Sept. 11 there were American flags on every car, and there were American flags on every collar, every lapel," Hennigan says. "And today, I'd venture to say, I hardly see anybody who wears them. 

"This is a great country; everybody wants to live here," he adds. "However, we are somewhat selfish. We forget, and we drop our guard, and we think it will never happen to us again.

"(Sept. 11) made me do a head check … about how we can't take America for granted," Hennigan says. "I hope this 10th anniversary re-energizes America. We must simply never forget those who died that day -- the 2,752 in the attacks or the 416 first responders. We must simply never, ever forget."