Hope Rising – To Lift a Nation, is a heroic-size (9ft) bronze monument that depicts the three firemen who raised the American flag at Ground Zero soon after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
The photograph of that poignant moment was captured by Thomas E. Franklin, a photographer for The Record, a newspaper in Bergen County, New Jersey. World-renowned sculptor, Stan Watts, was granted permission to create a sculpture in the likeness of this photograph.
The humble wish of the three firemen depicted here is to honor the brave fire fighters who perished running up the stairs, offering hope to everyone running down.
This monument will stand as a permanent reminder of a day we should never forget. It will serve as a fitting memorial for those we list in the attacks of 9.11, and have since list in the war on terror.
Most importantly, it will stand as a symbol of the hope we felt on the day we lost so many… and stood together.
The Healing Field Story
Dear Visitor,
Amidst the horrific aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001, three New York City firefighters quietly raised an American Flag. A flagpole bearing an American Flag, the simplest of devices, supported by the rubble of what used to be the World Trade Center, became a powerful symbol of hope to our country that day. That hope offered a measure of meaning to the rest of us as we processed with heavy hearts these cowardly attacks on our own soil.
In that spirit, on September 10th, 2002, as the first anniversary approached, the first Healing First Flag Display was erected 200 feet directly south of this location. The massive field of United States flags posted on 8 ft. tall poles, set in a reverent grid of perfect rows and columns, became a solemn, unifying and patriotic tribute clearly demonstrating the enormity of the loss of the 2,981 souls murdered on that fateful day. Many of the tens of thousands of visitors expressed a sense of healing as they walked through the field of flags. The title “Healing Field Flag Display” was adopted.
By September of 2003, 534 men and women of our armed forces had perished in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Flags honoring our fallen military were posted a 4 more flag memorials arose on the second anniversary throughout the country. The designation “Field of Honor” was adopted for the military tribute flag displays. By the third anniversary, 35 additional fields of flags arose across America. By the tenth anniversary, 523 Healing Field and Field of Honor flag displays had touched the lives of millions nationwide.
To the thousands of dedicated volunteers, Colonial Flag employees, generous friends, courageous Front Line Responders and members of our Armed Forces which came together each year to create a place to remember, honor and heal, I thank you.
Paul B. Swenson – September 11th, 2011
Hope Rising – To Lift a Nation Memorial
This memorial is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors. Their support, as well as their dedication to freedom, loyalty to our flag, and commitment to our community will never be forgotten.
Special Thanks
Sandy City – Mayor Tom Dolan & The Sandy City Council Salt Lake County – Mayor Peter Corroon & The County Council
Donors
IPM, Inc. – Ralph Dlugas Larry H. Miller Family – LHM Charities Les Olson Company Colonial Flag Company Arlen Crouch Energy Solutions KUTV2 News Merit Medical Sandy Area Chambers Todd Maurer Workers Compensation Fund 105.7 AM – 570 AM
Design & Construction
Stan Watts (Sculptor) Van Schelt Design Monument Arts CMI Specialty Insulation Ensign Engineering Layton Construction Rob Saxey Construction
“Distant Thunder” was created by artist Michael Coleman and first exhibited on May 10th, 2019. The 3,500 pound bronze sculpture took over a year to create. It was donated to Golden Spike National Historical Park in 2019 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the driving of the last spike in the Transcontinental Railroad.
Michael Coleman was born and raised in Provo, Utah and spent lots of time outdoors. Coleman is a prominent Western artist who has exhibited at the National Academy of Western Art and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Wyoming.
When discussing his sculpture “Distant Thunder,” Coleman said “My love of buffalo runs deep. The first painting I ever sold was of a buffalo. There was a small herd of bison down near Utah Lake about 10 or so miles from my house… they were magic!”
Where the Buffalo Roamed
Bison herds in the western United States were so massive, they shook the ground and sounded like thunder in the distance. The American bison roamed most of North American and in the early 19th century, population estimates were between 30 million to 60 million. Their story is inextricably tied to the history of America’s first transcontinental railroad.
Hundreds of thousands of bison were slaughtered by hunters, travelers and U.S. Troops. Trains shipped bison carcasses back east for machine belts, tongues as a delicacy, and bones as fertilizer. When the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, it accelerated the decimation of the species and by 1900, naturalists estimated less than 1,000 bison remained.
By the late 1880s, the endless herds of bison were wiped out and just a few hundred individuals remained. Near extinction of the majestic animal deprived the Pains Indians of their livelihood and resulted in tremendous suffering. The last remaining bison were protected in Yellowstone National Park and other sanctuaries in North America. Today, bison populations are slowly recovering. The sculpture “Distant Thunder” is a tribute to the vast herds that once roamed the American West.
This Bronze Sculpture is one of the most important works created by the 20th Century master Allan Houser who taught at the Intermountain Intertribal School in Brigham City, Utah from 1951-1962. It was among the 19 monumental works by the artist loaned from his estate to the Cultural Olympiad during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. It’s Permanent acquisition for the citizens of Salt Lake City was made possible by the Salt Lake Foundation with efforts spearheaded by Karen Edson and Sharon Newton. “May We Have Peace” serves as a legacy of the Olympic harmony. Other castings of this edition are included in major museum and corporate collections across the United States, including the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
When Claron Bradshaw was asked by the Heritage Park Foundation Committee if he would sponsor the expense of casting the “Pioneer Gratitude” statue in bronze and placing it on the monument in the park, he responded —
“I appreciate my Dixie Pioneer
Heritage! I will do it!”
Claron is the grandson of Ira Elsey Bradshaw and Marian Hinton Bradshaw who built the first permanent home in Hurricane. When Hurricane City was colonized in 1906, they moved down from Virgin City and lived in this home. The Bradshaws let the community use their front room for school, social and religious services until other facilities were built. The home was also used as a hotel for many years.
Claron’s father, Sherwin, was born December 29, 1905 in Virgin City and came with his folks to Hurricane in 1906. His mother, Maree Wood Bradshaw was born in Cedar City, Utah which her progenitors hepled colonize.
The historic Bradshaw home still stands on the southwest corner of the block across the street east from the Heritage.
George O. Cornish did not charge for the hundreds of hours he used sculpting “Pioneer Gratitude.”
He visualized a Utah’s Dixie pioneer family with physical stamina and undaunted spiritual strength who faced unpredictable calamities, tragedies, hardships, and food scarcity that honed characters of calm, stoic dignity.
The father toiled many cold, grueling, winter months in the deep Timpoweap Canyon that was carved by the turbulent Rio Virgin through the Hurricane Cliffs between the communities of Hurricane and La Verkin, Utah.
He worked with pick, shovel, crowbar, and wheelbarrow building the Hurricane Canal along ledges, through tunnels and across side canyons on flumes. When the canal came out of the west end of the canyon into the Hurricane Valley, it was clinging to the face of the hazardous cliffs several hundred feet above Pah Tempe Hot Mineral Springs that gurgle into the Rio Virgin near the mouth of the canyon.
While the father was working in the canyon during the week, his wife and son took care of the many chores at home. Saturday evening, the father came home to worship with his family on the Sabbath.
The family represented in this statue a feeling of the joyful satisfaction of a bountiful harvest from a new farm they helped pioneer in the fertile Hurricane Valley.
Brother Cornish has written: “They pause in their work and thank God. Heads are bowed and eyes closed as they speak to the Creator. They are grateful too, for the newborn infant on the mother’s arm.
“The father has his feet widespread and firmly planted. His pose and stature represent the physical and inner strength of those who conquered the desert with its searing summer heat and piercing winter cold. The father’s and mother’s fingers are touching softly. They have not forgotten courtesy, or tenderness, or love!
“This lovely woman represents the great spirit of those who worked beside their men; kept their homes; bore, and with love, trained their children.”