Attack victims’ memorial built at Red Rock Canyon

Angela Soo

Monday, Sept. 24, 2001 | 9:28 a.m.

The rubble from terrorist attacks in New York and Washington has not been cleared yet, but already outside Las Vegas, a memorial to those who died has been placed.

Visitors at Red Rock Canyon on Sunday afternoon said they were surprised to see the memorial, which had been installed earlier in the day.

"They do this very quickly," said Jozef Vikarsky, a foreign exchange student from Slovakia who was touring the canyon Sunday. "I am glad this is here."

In a joint effort between the Bureau of Land Management, Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association, the Victims Memorial was completed near the Visitors' Center Sunday morning. A dedication is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.

The 9-by-9-foot memorial consists of nine 3-by-3 stone tiles placed in rows of three, each with an artwork design or written text that pays tribute to the attack victims. Aquarius Stone carved the designs -- which include a New York skyline, an American flag, the Department of Defense seal and the Statue of Liberty -- onto the rock.

"Everybody in the future must know this tragedy happened," said Pavel Dolezel, a foreign exchange student from Czechoslovakia.

Red Rock and BLM officials agree and hope that visitors will remember the human lives that were sacrificed.

"We wanted to provide a visual for the community to honor the victims," said Pat Williams, membership chairwoman for Friends of Red Rock Canyon. "We wanted people to know that we're suffering with them."

BLM Interpretive Park Ranger Athena Sparks spearheaded the $5,000 project, which was fully funded by Red Rock nonprofit groups and the BLM.

"It was just a natural idea that came about," Sparks said. "The project was an outlet for us too."

The memorial has a personal meaning to native New Yorker Mark Rekshynskyj, the acting manager of Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. He lost two friends in the World Trade Center and his wife lost two cousins.

"The terrorist attacks hit me on several planes, being so far removed and feeling helpless," Rekshynskyj said. "I'm hoping the memorial will serve as a focal point for people to reflect and to understand what happened. I'm hoping it will tie America together."

The Victims Memorial is apart of the Dedication Walkway, an area where people have purchased smaller paving stones in memory of a loved one. The memorial sits to the side of the walkway, which will eventually encircle the entire Desert Tortoise enclosure next to the Red Rock Visitors' center.

One of the memorial pieces includes a single quote from President John F. Kennedy inauguration speech in 1960: "Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty."