Lewes family honors son and those impacted in 9/11 with yard memorial

LEWES, Del. - Horror and heroism, one Delmarva family lost their son in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and will hold an annual ceremony in honor of him in Lewes.

The ceremony will be hosted by Carol and Roger Whitford at their home Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. to honor their son, Mark, who died in the South Tower working as a firefighter during the attacks. Mark was a firefighter with Engine Company 23 in New York City.

According to their website, everyone is invited, rain or shine, to attend the 9/11 Patriot Day event at 17181 Minos Conway Road in Lewes. 

The ceremony includes emotional stories from survivors of the 9/11 attacks, t-shirts for sale and bagpipes playing music.

Beyond the annual ceremony, the Whitford's yard memorial is open all year long for people to stop by whenever they wish. 

Roger Whitford started with a small memorial in his yard with the goal of never forgetting those who lost their lives on 9/11.

"I had an idea," said Whitford. "I had a dream about building a bigger memorial."

That dream became a reality over the last thirteen years as he transformed his yard into an exquisite memorial. One section of the memorial is dedicated to the 343 firefighters and first responders that died in the attacks. This section includes a miniature replica of the Twin Towers that act as waterfalls, a Statue of Liberty decoration and photographs of the heroes. The second section of the memorial displays a piece of steel from the World Trade Center that is dedicated to every person that died on 9/11. The third section is dedicated to Mark and showcases photographs and information about him.

"Mark was the type of boy who helped everybody," said Whitford.

Whitford said the building of the memorial has been therapeutic for his family.

With the memorial being open to the public at all times, Whitford says they've met so many people; some who've knocked on their door and shared their 9/11 experience when they hadn't ever before. 

"They talk to us now. They come here. That alone is a blessing that we got them out to at least talk and feel better."

"Knowing how it helps everybody, I'm glad my dream came true and we built this," said Whitford.