Biloxi to Memorialize Katrina Victims
As the five-year anniversary of the deadly Hurricane Katrina approaches, the city of Biloxi, Miss., plans to create a memorial on the Town Green that will list the names of nearly 170 people who died or are missing because of the storm.
Finishing What was Started
In 2006, volunteers with ABC’s television show Extreme Makeover—Home Edition constructed a memorial that the city of Biloxi wants to expand upon. In an interview, Vincent Creel, a spokesperson for the city, told WLOX, “All the communities on the coast that lost people in the August 29, 2005 storm, their names are going to be finally placed on this wall.” WLOX also reports the original architect for the memorial is designing the engraving of the victim’s names and will attempt to remediate water damage to the current memorial because of Mississippi’s heat and humidity.
One of the biggest hurdles the city of Biloxi faces is finding the funds to repair the old memorial and build the new one, but Creel is confident the funds will become available. He states, “What’s so important about this memorial is that it shows what we lost. It shows what we found. It just shows the day that changed our lives forever.”
As in Biloxi’s case, many people who grieve find they want to memorialize the loved ones they’ve lost, but think they do not have the funds to do so. However, there are several ways you can memorialize loved ones with time instead of money. For example, you can create a free online memorial page that tells a loved one’s life story, which you can customize with templates (including templates for those in the Armed Forces). In addition, you can add photographs, videos and invite others to share their stories of the person you want to memorialize.
[photo: jared422_80]
Tags: biloxi, hurricane katrina, katrina memorial
