Sculpture honors those who lost lives, those who still serve

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Inspired by the Sept. 11 tragedies, a Sikeston resident has created a steel sculpture as a tribute to the firefighters and police officers who died that day and to officers and firefighters everywhere who continue to serve.

Buzz Ferrell of Sikeston recently donated his sculpture to the city to display at city hall.

"The idea came to me while driving the day after the attacks," Ferrell explained. "My only sketch varied only slightly from the finished piece." The copper-colored steel piece features a flag at half staff flying over a firefighter's helmet and a policeman's hat, resting on a pile of concrete and brick debris.

One side of the sculpture's wooden base is marked with the date 9-11-01. On the opposite side on the flagpole, a portion of scripture from John 15:13 reads: "No greater man than he, who walks into danger to save thee. ..."

Ferrell, a Steward Steel employee, said that because he wasn't a welder or carpenter, he had to learn to do what was needed to assemble the sculpture.

"I knew I wanted to use materials that had been previously used in structures in Sikeston," he said. "These pieces could have come from any number of buildings in Sikeston that were destroyed by fire or tornadoes or any natural disaster that a city or county officer would have risked their lives to make sure everyone was safe."

Symbolic rust

Most of the pieces of steel Ferrell assembled for the components of his sculpture were rusted. He said he feels the blasting away of the rust in preparation for welding was symbolic of the new way many citizens looked at police and firefighters in the aftermath of the sacrifices last September.

Though his inspiration came from the events of Sept. 11, and the immediate message the scripture conveys to the beholder is one of tribute to the heroes of that day, Ferrell said, it is a tribute to firefighters and law enforcement officers everywhere.

"My feeling was that our very own officers in our small town would have done the very same thing; risk their own well-being to save every last one in the community," he said. "This piece will hopefully make anyone take a moment to remember every officer in our community that would risk danger to save our lives."

Ferrell said the gift was to the city and "its officers, city or county, family or friend, as a permanent memorial to those who gave it all, and to those who would have done the same."

The sculpture can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at Sikeston City Hall.