The Hamilton County Fallen Firefighters Memorial Committee is installing a memorial on the banks of the White River adjacent to the County Judicial Center at 1 N. 8th St. in Noblesville.
According to Mike Cook, chairman of the committee, in March 2009 the Riverwalk Committee approved the memorial to be one of the centerpieces of its county project. After several years of fundraising and planning, the memorial is in its final stages of construction, and the committee is planning a day for a dedication.
“The committee has worked with artists and community members to design a memorial that will best illustrate what firefighters do as all hazard responders,” Cook said. “The use of bronze statues and various stones native to Indiana will be used to create a memorial in a public common space that truly honors those who gave all to help their community and fellow citizens.”
The committee was formed in 2008 after fire departments and volunteer fire departments in Hamilton County expressed a desire to honor three Hamilton County firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Since the committee’s creation, two additional Hamilton County firefighters have died.
The five firefighters the memorial honors are:
- Byron J. Galbreath, a Noblesville firefighter who died in the line of duty Aug. 14, 1951
- Cyrus “Skip” Clark, a former Carmel assistant fire chief who died in the line of duty Dec. 3, 1960
- Raymond E. Moulder, a former Fishers assistant fire chief who died in the line of duty Oct. 13, 1967
- Mark Glenn “Robo” Robinson, a Carmel firefighter who died in the line of duty June 19, 2017
- Gary Southerland, a former Westfield Fire Department chief who died in the line of duty Jan. 12, 2020
In addition to bronze statues, Cook said a steel beam from the rubble of the World Trade Center, which the committee accepted in 2011 from the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, will be incorporated into the memorial as a reminder of the loss of life in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The memorial will also use QR code technology so visitors can access donor information, information about fallen firefighters and information about the memorial itself.
“It is a great feeling to finally see it come to life,” Cook said. “We’ve been looking at plans and drawings for so many years and we’re thrilled to see it coming about.”
For more, visit hcfallenfirefightersmemorial.org.
