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CITY OF WYLIE
Wylie Will Never Forget
by Amber Hamilton
“A couple of hours later when both of the towers had fallen, it hit home that the world I lived in would never be the same,” said Capt. Andrew Johnson. The world was never the same for anyone after Sept. 11, 2001. This was the day the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed after being struck by two hijacked commercial planes, killing over 2,700 people. Three hundred fortythree of those people were firefighters. As the 20th anniversary of that day approaches, Wylie is helping ensure the lives lost that day are not forgotten. In August, after months of submissions and discussions, the Wylie Public Arts Advisory Board, Wylie City Council, and a selection panel chose the final art submission titled "Never Forget." The piece will pay homage to the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The artwork will be permanently displayed at Fire Station 4 currently under construction off McMillan Road and scheduled to open in spring 2022. “I have a daughter that was not alive when 9/11 happened,” said Capt. Johnson, a 10-year veteran of Wylie Fire Rescue and a member of the selection panel. “When she drives by she’ll know what it is, and that’s what I wanted.”
Capt. Johnson’s involvement in the fire station’s public art piece was happenstance. He overheard discussions about a potential sculpture and mentioned to Fire Chief Brandon Blythe that the theme should have something to do with 9/11. Chief Blythe agreed. From a young age, Capt. Johnson knew he wanted to be a firefighter. That decision was solidified for him on Sept. 11, 2001, when he watched, along with fellow classmates, as the Twin Towers burned. He recalls watching footage from that day and hearing the din of continuous beeps from Personal Alert Safety System devices. Firefighters wear these devices that beep when motion goes undetected for a prolonged period of time. Capt. Johnson thought, “There’s a lot of dead firefighters in there.” For Capt. Johnson, "Never Forget" is a way to pay tribute to those firefighters who gave their lives. “People say this is the greatest loss of life we’ve ever experienced,” he said. “What if it wasn’t the greatest loss of life but the greatest rescue of all time? How many of those people wouldn’t have made it out, and how many more would have died?” Terrence Martin, a Sacramento-based artist, is the one bringing the tribute to life. The artwork will imitate the iconic look of the Twin Towers with two, mostly-hollow, aluminum
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