Eagle Scout to Dedicate 9-11 Memorial

As the nation marks the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks this weekend, a 16-year-old Dubuque teenager is set to unveil a special memorial.

It started as an Eagle Scout project, but now it's much more.

The project pays tribute to so many lives lost that day.

He was only five years old. But on September 11, 2001, Luke Arensdorf knew something was wrong.

Arensdorf said, " I was in Kindergarten. We couldn't go outside for recess. I just remembered the face of terror on my teacher's face. "

Ten years later that look of terror still haunts him. So he did something about it.

Arensdorf said, "this is a tribute to the emergency responders of rescue workers, flights, and civilians who paid the ultimate price that day. "

Arensdorf created and constructed this 9-11 Memorial.

He's now putting the finishing touches on the massive project.

Under a tarp is a monument listing the of names everyone who died that day.

These two pillars represent the twin towers and are made of Indiana limestone, the same type of limestone used to build the Pentagon.

Arensdorf will cover the pillars with metal scraps that came from the rubble of the actual twin towers.

Arensdorf said, "the regulations were it had to be outside can't be behind and closed doors or windows and it had to be open to the public. "

Arensdorf said some people said he'd never be able to pull off a project this big.

"I'm an Arensdorf. I don't listen to anyone. We're all bull-headed."

Bull-headed? Possibly. But maybe that's what it takes to create a tribute to help a community remember 9-11 for years to come.

Arensdorf will host a dedication ceremony  Sunday morning at 9.

The Memorial Plaza sits next to the Dubuque County Emergency Training Center on Siepple Road.