Working a day shift at the Byron (IL) Fire Protection District awhile back, Josiah Lee Henson, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, was checking the firehouse quartermaster’s closet for any expired turnout gear. Normally, any expired sets of gear found would be removed from service and used for training only. Otherwise, they would be cut up and thrown in the trash to prevent anyone from using old turnouts to impersonate a firefighter.
But, as Henson was examining the old gear, the artist inside him began whirling ideas around for it. One of the turnout sets could be used to honor the 343 FDNY firefighters lost on 9/11.
“Ever since I was young I’ve always gravitated toward art as a form of expression. My dad says that as soon as I could hold a pencil or crayon, I would be lost in my own creations for hours.” It runs in the family. A grandmother, his father, his sister, and a niece all share the artistic tendency. Acrylic or oil on canvas, micron pens, pencils, charcoal, plaster, and digital art are some artistic media with which Henson has worked. “I just love to work with my hands and create anything!”
Pondering, he thought that since the fire service lost so many good men attempting to rescue others people out of the towers that day, he thought, “What better way to honor them than to write each one of their names and positions with the FDNY on the front of the jacket?”
So he began his work, refusing to sit down during the entire process, “because when my brothers died in 9/11, they died on their feet. I would not be at ease while I wrote their names out of respect.”
Writing the names alternately in red and blue alone took a total of 15 hours in separate phases.
To this he added a helmet with an American flag handpainted over the face piece, and angel wings. The flag represents America’s ability to suffer a blow like 9/11 and still come out on top and never give up. The angel wings represent all of the firefighters that gave their lives to save others. “In the face of absolute uncertainty, those men rushed into the towers, which were crumbling all around them, to rescue anyone that they could.” That, he said, will forever make angels. The feathers are grayish-black to represent the ash that covered the city after 9/11.
Henson says the memorial is roughly 90-percent complete. He’s still making a few decision about overall memorial display and the plaque that tells the story of it
The memorial will be on permanent display at the Byron (IL) Fire Department. If the 9/11 Museum in New York City is interested in the art, it is welcome to it, according to Henson. Although a local reporter contacted museum, it has not responded yet.
“I want as many people as possible to see it so we can all remember all those who perished that day and make sure they will never be forgotten. ”
The official unveiling is still off in the future, Henson says, and he will have more information on the date and time soon. For more information, see www.josiahsangel.com.
Photos by Jeremy Oster, courtesy of The Rock River Times (www.rockrivertimes.com).
