Nearly 1600 American flags and hundreds of custom-made crosses lined Scott Townley's front lawn in Fullerton on the corner of Fern Dr. and Woods Ave. to commemorate the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Flowers engulfed his lawn while a large white sign with bold letters read, "In Honor of the Heroes and Innocent People Who Perished / September 11th, 2001 / We Will Never Forget."
Townley, who has been a firefighter for the Santa Ana Fire Department since 1986, began memorializing 9/11 victims three to four days after the attacks.
"I felt compelled to do the memorial," Townley said. "I placed a hand-painted sign for all the firefighters and followed it by putting between [20-50] flags on a mound by my corner lot. Over the years, I've always had that up every single September 11th. Last year as I was taking it down, I thought to myself, 'Next year is the 10th Anniversary...I need to do something bigger -- something that people will really remember.'"
Townley did just that, and so much more followed.
Over the past week, local residents, council men, and firefighters paid multiple visits to his home while media outlets flocked to his doorstep, requesting interviews for segments about the memorial and his journey to its completion, including CBS-2, KTLA-5, ABC-7, and more.
His project started soon after last year's anniversary and took about 11 months to complete. The result was beyond imaginable: 1600 small American flags meticulously placed throughout the front lawn; hundreds of hand-crafted crosses to pay tribute to FDNY, NYPD, and Port Authority officers; three massive, handmade crosses, each standing 8-feet tall; and a table filled with facts about 9/11, the names and faces of deceased heroes, a guestbook for visitors to sign and water.
With the exception of one 8-foot-tall cross, the other two read "FDNY 393" and "NYPD, PAPD, NY." The third cross was labeled "Civilians." In blue and read font, it listed the names of all the civilians who perished on 9/11. The list included 2,835 names from the World Trade Center, American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, the Pentagon, the United States Army and Navy, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93.As for the 1600 flags, Townley mentioned that one small flag represented three lives lost, however, the FDNY, NYPD and PAPD were each given their own flags as a tribute to fallen heroes.
"What has been happening is that people who knew some of the firefighters personally, have been coming here to take the flags in front of their crosses. Some are bringing it back to the widows and orphans of these firefighters. Once they are taken, I take the flags surrounding the trees and replace them. The policemen also have flags, but of those I have spoken to, none have known any of them," said Townley.
A year from now, Townley has a similar plan for his memorial, except this time, he will be placing over 3,100 flags on the front lawn. He says one flag will represent a life lost as a result of 9/11, so no one will be forgotten. Set up will begin on either Sept. 1st or 2nd and some locals have already stepped up to volunteer."It's a labor of love. It was my honor -- an honor to my FDNY Brothers."
