Long Beach Community Unites to Fix Vandalized 9/11 Memorial

The upset that community member Bill Murphy felt after his handmade 9/11 memorial was destroyed turned into a smile and an opportunity for community togetherness after volunteer firefighters pledged to rebuild.

Murphy woke Saturday to find his beloved memorial had been vandalized, and later that afternoon, members of the Long Beach Fire Department decided to help restore the piece to its former glory.

After surveying the destruction, Lt. Edward Langdon, Jr. and former captain John Marino realized the memorial would need to be rebuilt from the ground up, according to a post on the Long Beach Fire Department Facebook page, and they organized a group of volunteers and headed to Home Depot at 9 p.m. that night.

The group worked until the project was complete at 4 a.m, the post states. They met with Murphy at 11 a.m. and along with the help of his wife and neighbors removed the broken memorial and outfitted the new one.

After an hour, the new memorial was complete and Bill repositioned the 8-foot flagpole.

“Thank you, Bill, for being the person that you are and for maintaining this memorial,” states a comment from the Long Beach Fire Department Facebook page. “You are a true patriot and a fine example of why Long Beach is the greatest city on earth. Thank you to all the residents for your support and thank you to all the firefighters for yet again, going above and beyond for your community!”

[Video and photos courtesy of Long Beach Fire Department]