By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Last Friday morning, the Hamilton County Fallen Firefighters Memorial was installed behind the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center, 1 N. 8th St., Noblesville. Getting the memorial installed was a journey of several years, countless miles, and the contributions of many people in the community.
For the final leg of this memorial’s journey, Steve and Lori Schwartz flew to Arizona to transport the statue to its Hamilton County home in a truck donated by U-Haul.
In 2008, the Hamilton County Fallen Firefighters Memorial Committee was formed after conversations with members of both career and volunteer fire departments in Hamilton County, who all expressed a desire to honor the Hamilton County firefighters who had given their life in the line of duty.
The committee worked with artists and members of the community to design a memorial that shows what firefighters do as all-hazard responders. The use of bronze statues and various stones native to Indiana were used to create a memorial in a common space that truly honors those who gave all to help their community and their fellow citizens.
This girder from the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, is part of the permanent Hamilton County Fallen Firefighters Memorial. (Photo provided by Lori & Steve Schwartz)
A steel beam artifact from the rubble of the World Trade Center tragedy was incorporated in this memorial as a prominent reminder of the terrible loss of life that took place on September 11, 2001, and those who have subsequently died as a result in the years that followed.
Glenn Schwartz, who used to be a volunteer fireman in Castleton, donated the $20,000 and built the trailer and held that beam for the last several years.
According to Lori and Steve Schwartz, mounting the beam on that custom trailer allowed it to be transported to events at several fire stations.
“They could come and get it on the trailer and take it to different events and other fire stations, waiting for the bronze statue to be built because that took a lot of money for the firemen to raise that kind of money,” Lori said.
Regarding the trip from Arizona to Indiana with the finished statue, Lori told The Reporter, “The whole journey was just amazing. We even got to stop at Winslow, Ariz., and meet those firemen.”
Lori and Steve picked up the statue and drove it all the way back to Indiana over the course of nearly a week. Thanks to Hamilton County Tourism, the Schwartz’s had a route planned for them, which included a number of stops at fire stations along the way.
“It was an amazing journey back to Indiana,” Lori said. “The response from each individual fireman was amazing. It touched them to see the bronze statue for the fallen firemen.”
In Oklahoma City the Schwartz’s were given a 70-car police and fire escort into the city to allow the statue to stop at the city’s fire department. Several members of that and other fire departments along the way took the opportunity to touch the statue with reverence and to have their photos taken with it as it traveled to its final home in Noblesville.
After 28 stops along the way, Lori Schwartz said she and Steve they were given a police and fire escort into Noblesville with 50 or more vehicles.
Thanks go out to all the donors who contributed to this memorial, to Hamilton County, the City of Noblesville, to the artists who designed the memorial itself, to the Schwartz family, and to all the firefighters who have ever given their lives in the line of duty.
Photos provided by Lori & Steve Schwartz