Heroic memorial
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Stan Watts knows something about heroes.
The LDS sculptor has long plied his trade crafting monuments to gallantry. His past artistic subjects range from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to Brigham Young and the Mormon Pioneers. And recent visitors to Nauvoo have likely spent a moment or two considering the nature of heroism while studying Brother Watts' larger-than-life work "Calm as a Summer's Morning" — a tribute in bronze to Joseph Smith and his loyal brother, Hyrum, placed outside the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.
Brother Watts' latest monument to heroism, "To Lift a Nation," captures a resolute, iconic moment of U.S. history.
The hours following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on America were filled with fear and uncertainty. But many found courage and hope in a newspaper photograph of three firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center. The award-winning photo would come to symbolize both the heroic rescue workers and the tenacious grit of the human spirit.
Like millions of others, Brother Watts was touched by the photo and its layered meanings. His wife, Renee, first saw the image of the three firefighters in the newspaper. Sister Watts showed the photo to her husband and suggested he create a sculpture. After successfully negotiating for the image's licensing rights, Brother Watts began working on the massive project.
Now completed, the colossal monument will be permanently displayed at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park located on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md.
Given the gravity of the firefighter/flag image, it's perhaps appropriate that "To Lift a Nation" is built three times larger than life-size. The sculpture is 40 feet high, 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide. Each of the firefighter statues weigh some 5,000 pounds and was formed from approximately 160 bronze sections weighing between 60-80 pounds each. After welding the statues and flagpole to its base, the monument will weigh more than 17,000 pounds.
"It's an honor to do a monument like this for the country — and an honor to be a Church member," said the humble artist.
The sculpture began its journey from Brother Watts' casting warehouse in Kearns, Utah, to Maryland on Sept. 24. There it was assembled and erected under Brother Watts' direction.
"To Lift A Nation" was financed by a team of corporate and private benefactors. It will be dedicated on Nov. 5.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
