Freedom Flag designer wants to build monument in Henrico

Richard Melito isn't content to wave a flag for freedom -- he wants to build a monument to freedom in Henrico County.

Like the Freedom Flag he designed eight years ago, his Freedom Monument would commemorate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The flag was named as Virginia's official symbol of remembrance of 9/11 by then-Gov. Mark R. Warner in 2002. It flies beneath the American flag at about 3,000 schools each year on Sept. 11.

Melito wants to build his white marble monument on a generally ignored triangle of county land on Parham Road across from Regency Square mall. When he presented his idea to the Board of Supervisors at a work session in June, Melito was encouraged to work with county staff members and present a plan of development to the Planning Commission.

Fundraising for the monument will kick off Friday at the annual 9/11 flag-raising ceremony at Douglas Freeman High School. The initial target is $1 million, which people can contribute to with donations as small as $5 for a Freedom Flag lapel pin. Other options include $100 to buy a personalized paving brick for the plaza or $6,000 for a flagpole.

Melito hopes to have permits and money in hand to break ground by Sept. 11 next year. He expects to complete the monument before the 10th anniversary in 2011.

His design for the monument is basically the same as his design for the flag, minus the colors.

On the flag's blue background, a white star represents those who lived and died for freedom. Five white bars around the star represent the Pentagon and its organized protection of freedom. Broad red stripes represent the twin towers, where the majority of people were killed in the attacks. Thin red stripes represent lives lost in the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crashes. Three white stripes represent rescuers.

The 30-foot-tall monument would have four columns -- two of them wide and two of them narrow -- supporting an 18-foot-wide top with a polished aluminum star surrounded by five bars.

Bruce Perretz of Perretz & Young Architects in Ashland did architectural designs for the monument and a plaza around it. David Ellington of Kimley-Horn and Associates has volunteered to do the engineering work, Melito said.

Now, he just has to raise the money to make it happen and keep it going. County supervisors, after hearing his presentation, agreed on a county policy requiring the builder of any monument on county property to pay for maintenance of the monument as well as construction.

Several potential sites for the Freedom Monument were considered, including one on Monument Avenue across from St. Mary's Hospital, Melito said.

Putting the monument in the median strip of Monument Avenue, like statues on the avenue in the city, was not feasible, he said. Deputy County Manager Randy Silber agreed that people shouldn't have to cross a busy street to reach the monument.

Melito likes Parham Road because of its high visibility and high traffic volume. About 50,000 cars a day travel that corridor.

Tentative designs for the Parham Road site include a few parking spaces, but for commemorative events visitors likely would park at Regency Square or other nearby businesses and churches. Melito's restaurant at Eastridge and Three Chopt roads is also within walking distance, though it's not as close as other parking options.

He hopes the monument will give people a place to remember.

"It'll solve the problem of what do you do on Sept. 11," he said. "It'll build a respectful place and monument so a wreath can be put there every year by the governor."

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .