LEWES, Del. — A Lewes couple has spent nearly eight years building a 9/11 memorial in their front yard to honor their son and the thousands of people who lost their lives during the attacks.
Roger and Carol Whitford’s 9/11 Remembrance Memorial includes steel from the World Trade Center, a water fountain, bell and butterflies.
Their son, Mark Whitford, was a firefighter with the FDNY and the driver of Engine 23, which was taken to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Roger Whitford says Mark left the rig and went into the World Trade Center to help others.
"Generally the chauffeur stays with the truck,” Whitford said. “But that wasn't Mark, you know? Mark suited up and called his wife, he says ‘I'm suited up. I'm going in.’"
Mark was 31 years old when he died and left behind his wife and young twin boys.
Butterflies are an important part of the memorial because of an experience Mark’s brother, Christopher, had at Ground Zero the day after the attacks.
“Something blew in front of his face and…he looked and what it was was a monarch butterfly,” Whitford told WBOC. “And he said then he knew that he found his brother. And that's why you see butterflies all throughout our memorial here because that all means…a lot to us.”
Carol Whitford says building the memorial was a vision shared by both her and Roger.
“It was Roger’s dream and my dream, and he brought it to reality,” Whitford said.
The Whitfords held a memorial event at their Lewes home Friday evening, marking 25 years since the attacks. The Whitfords say the memorial is always open and encourage people to visit. They say their goal is to keep Mark’s memory and the memories of those lost on 9/11 alive for future generations.
