Making memorials reality no easy task
Before 9/11 plan, a Desert Storm monument was in the works
Making memorials reality no easy task
By KEVIN AMERMAN kamerman@leader.net
WILKES-BARRE – More than a month after announcing plans to build a $1.3 million 9/11 memorial in Kirby Park, officials have yet to say how much has been raised for the heavily criticized project.
Raising money for such a monument can be a daunting task. Just ask the group of eight or so people who in 1991 announced plans to construct a $100,000 memorial for Operation Desert Storm.
Fifteen years later, the dwindling group has reached a standstill, with about one-fifth of the desired goal in its account.
“It’s a small valley. How much can people give?” asked Barbara Ryan, who fought in Desert Storm as a Navy Reservist and oversees the Desert Storm Memorial Committee with her husband, Frederick Ryan, a retired Navy veteran.
The nonprofit organization has $20,594 in its account. The Ryans said the designer of the monument, Gerhard Baut of Baut Studios in Swoyersville, recently decided he can draw up a scaled-down version of the monument for about $30,000. But they doubt another $10,000 can be raised.
Frederick Ryan still wants to build something to honor those who served in Desert Storm.
“We still want to do something because a lot of people have invested money in this,” he said.
Although they are set on erecting their proposed monument, the Ryans and others who helped raise that money aren’t supportive of the plan for the 9/11 monument. Many residents have also criticized the plan, causing verbal battles with Wilkes-Barre city council members.
Wilkes-Barre attorney Tom Marsilio, a retired marine who helped the Desert Storm Memorial Committee become a nonprofit organization at no charge and helped raise funds for it, said he agrees that 9/11 affected the whole country, “but $1.3 million is a heck of a lot of money.”
“Personally, I think it’s too excessive. And, whether or not there will be a benefit to the city is a big question,” he said, responding to officials’ claims that the monument would draw people from all over the country to Wilkes-Barre.
Barbara Ryan agreed, saying perhaps raising money for scholarship funds or some other form of assistance for family members of 9/11 victims would be more appropriate.
Frank Carden, a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran who helped raise money for the Desert Storm monument, also said the proposed 9/11 memorial is too expensive and said a plaque for victims of the terrorist attacks might be more fitting.
“There have been so many appropriate ways of either compensating or honoring 9/11 people,” Carden said. “I don’t think we need another memorial.”
While most opponents attack the price, size and proposed location of the 9/11 monument, Carden also criticized its merit, saying memorializing innocent victims is not the same as honoring “a soldier’s life” in which people know they are risking their lives.
“They were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Carden said. “It can happen to anybody at any time. It can happen to me tomorrow. … It wasn’t like someone who goes into battle every day.”
But officials have said the monument will also honor the emergency crews who put their lives on the line by responding after the attacks and those who fought in war after it.
Dianne Kircher of Forty Fort said she thinks the 9/11 memorial is a good idea, but says the Desert Storm memorial, which she helped raise money for, should be built first.
Judging from the proposed Desert Storm memorial, initial interest is key.
“The first year there was good interest,” said Frederick Ryan. “Then it just started to die.”
Marsilio said fundraising contributions “reached a trickling stage.”
“The brevity and the few number of casualties contributed to the waning interest after the peak,” Marsilio said.
Those with the ability to make the Desert Storm monument a reality didn’t support it, Carden said.
“We did not get much backing from prominent people or people who were well-off in the community,” he said. “Most money was raised through selling flags and T-shirts, and that’s nickel and dime stuff. It’s unfortunate, people who have the biggest stake and who benefit the most often are less supportive. It’s the Joe six-packs of the world (who contribute).”
Original plans for the Desert Storm memorial called for a single pillar several feet high to be placed in the middle of a marble base. It would have been built near the Luzerne County Courthouse.
The 9/11 memorial proposed by the city and county is much larger in price and scope. It would be placed by a pond at Kirby Park and would feature 20 granite pillars – nine on one side and 11 on the other – with names of those who died inscribed on them. The monument would also be surrounded by shrubbery and flags, and a granite pedestal would be placed in the middle describing the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
The man overseeing contributions that come in for the 9/11 memorial, City Administrator J.J. Murphy, couldn’t give even a round figure when asked on Wednesday how much has been raised.
“Frankly, I haven’t done anything with the monument,” Murphy said, stating that he’s been busy with other city priorities such as finalizing a deal to bring wireless Internet to the city and preparing for the construction of the intermodal center.
Murphy said some people have expressed interest in donating money between $500 and $1,000, but he said he hasn’t had a chance to collect it. He said he still believes the projected in feasible.
“We’ll give it our best effort,” he said. “If the public doesn’t want to get behind a project like this, than maybe they don’t.”
Fundraisers for the proposed Desert Storm memorial say they have had their fair share of critics. But most came after they collected the money. There were rumors that the organization cleared much more than it did and people have wondered why nothing has been built and where the money went, Barbara Ryan said.
“There’s not even a question of money missing,” Frederick Ryan said. “We can track almost every penny.”
Although the organization raised more than $50,000, it had to pay for the cost of the T-shirts it sold and for spaces and insurance at fairs and festivals.
“People weren’t looking at what we spent,” Barbara Ryan said, noting that volunteers didn’t even take money out for expenses such as gas. “We had to work really hard and long to get what we got.”
The group lost about $3,000 by placing the money it raised into a liquid asset fund tied in with the stock market, the Ryans said.
“The goal was an extremely noble one, and to get trashed like this was disconcerting,” Marsilio said.
The Ryans, who now live in Bethlehem, say more than half of the original fundraisers have left Luzerne County.
Kevin Amerman, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.
Making memorials reality no easy task
By KEVIN AMERMAN kamerman@leader.net
WILKES-BARRE – More than a month after announcing plans to build a $1.3 million 9/11 memorial in Kirby Park, officials have yet to say how much has been raised for the heavily criticized project.
Raising money for such a monument can be a daunting task. Just ask the group of eight or so people who in 1991 announced plans to construct a $100,000 memorial for Operation Desert Storm.
Fifteen years later, the dwindling group has reached a standstill, with about one-fifth of the desired goal in its account.
“It’s a small valley. How much can people give?” asked Barbara Ryan, who fought in Desert Storm as a Navy Reservist and oversees the Desert Storm Memorial Committee with her husband, Frederick Ryan, a retired Navy veteran.
The nonprofit organization has $20,594 in its account. The Ryans said the designer of the monument, Gerhard Baut of Baut Studios in Swoyersville, recently decided he can draw up a scaled-down version of the monument for about $30,000. But they doubt another $10,000 can be raised.
Frederick Ryan still wants to build something to honor those who served in Desert Storm.
“We still want to do something because a lot of people have invested money in this,” he said.
Although they are set on erecting their proposed monument, the Ryans and others who helped raise that money aren’t supportive of the plan for the 9/11 monument. Many residents have also criticized the plan, causing verbal battles with Wilkes-Barre city council members.
Wilkes-Barre attorney Tom Marsilio, a retired marine who helped the Desert Storm Memorial Committee become a nonprofit organization at no charge and helped raise funds for it, said he agrees that 9/11 affected the whole country, “but $1.3 million is a heck of a lot of money.”
“Personally, I think it’s too excessive. And, whether or not there will be a benefit to the city is a big question,” he said, responding to officials’ claims that the monument would draw people from all over the country to Wilkes-Barre.
Barbara Ryan agreed, saying perhaps raising money for scholarship funds or some other form of assistance for family members of 9/11 victims would be more appropriate.
Frank Carden, a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran who helped raise money for the Desert Storm monument, also said the proposed 9/11 memorial is too expensive and said a plaque for victims of the terrorist attacks might be more fitting.
“There have been so many appropriate ways of either compensating or honoring 9/11 people,” Carden said. “I don’t think we need another memorial.”
While most opponents attack the price, size and proposed location of the 9/11 monument, Carden also criticized its merit, saying memorializing innocent victims is not the same as honoring “a soldier’s life” in which people know they are risking their lives.
“They were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Carden said. “It can happen to anybody at any time. It can happen to me tomorrow. … It wasn’t like someone who goes into battle every day.”
But officials have said the monument will also honor the emergency crews who put their lives on the line by responding after the attacks and those who fought in war after it.
Dianne Kircher of Forty Fort said she thinks the 9/11 memorial is a good idea, but says the Desert Storm memorial, which she helped raise money for, should be built first.
Judging from the proposed Desert Storm memorial, initial interest is key.
“The first year there was good interest,” said Frederick Ryan. “Then it just started to die.”
Marsilio said fundraising contributions “reached a trickling stage.”
“The brevity and the few number of casualties contributed to the waning interest after the peak,” Marsilio said.
Those with the ability to make the Desert Storm monument a reality didn’t support it, Carden said.
“We did not get much backing from prominent people or people who were well-off in the community,” he said. “Most money was raised through selling flags and T-shirts, and that’s nickel and dime stuff. It’s unfortunate, people who have the biggest stake and who benefit the most often are less supportive. It’s the Joe six-packs of the world (who contribute).”
Original plans for the Desert Storm memorial called for a single pillar several feet high to be placed in the middle of a marble base. It would have been built near the Luzerne County Courthouse.
The 9/11 memorial proposed by the city and county is much larger in price and scope. It would be placed by a pond at Kirby Park and would feature 20 granite pillars – nine on one side and 11 on the other – with names of those who died inscribed on them. The monument would also be surrounded by shrubbery and flags, and a granite pedestal would be placed in the middle describing the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
The man overseeing contributions that come in for the 9/11 memorial, City Administrator J.J. Murphy, couldn’t give even a round figure when asked on Wednesday how much has been raised.
“Frankly, I haven’t done anything with the monument,” Murphy said, stating that he’s been busy with other city priorities such as finalizing a deal to bring wireless Internet to the city and preparing for the construction of the intermodal center.
Murphy said some people have expressed interest in donating money between $500 and $1,000, but he said he hasn’t had a chance to collect it. He said he still believes the projected in feasible.
“We’ll give it our best effort,” he said. “If the public doesn’t want to get behind a project like this, than maybe they don’t.”
Fundraisers for the proposed Desert Storm memorial say they have had their fair share of critics. But most came after they collected the money. There were rumors that the organization cleared much more than it did and people have wondered why nothing has been built and where the money went, Barbara Ryan said.
“There’s not even a question of money missing,” Frederick Ryan said. “We can track almost every penny.”
Although the organization raised more than $50,000, it had to pay for the cost of the T-shirts it sold and for spaces and insurance at fairs and festivals.
“People weren’t looking at what we spent,” Barbara Ryan said, noting that volunteers didn’t even take money out for expenses such as gas. “We had to work really hard and long to get what we got.”
The group lost about $3,000 by placing the money it raised into a liquid asset fund tied in with the stock market, the Ryans said.
“The goal was an extremely noble one, and to get trashed like this was disconcerting,” Marsilio said.
The Ryans, who now live in Bethlehem, say more than half of the original fundraisers have left Luzerne County.
Kevin Amerman, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.
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