Blacksmith with movie background creates 9/11 monument

Posted 7:54AM on Friday 5th July 2002 ( 22 years ago )

CATAULA - In Hollywood, Marvin A. Gardner worked on special effects for motion pictures such as ``Jurassic Park,'' ``Toys,'' ``Top Gun'' and ``The Untouchables.'' Now, he is using his skills as a blacksmith to create a monument that will honor those killed at The Pentagon on Sept. 11. Gardner is converting steel from a rusty corn silo into more than 1,000 feathers for an eagle that will appear to be landing near Fort Benning's Herbert J. Dexter Elementary School. In its claws will be a 400-pound chunk of a limestone wall damaged in the Pentagon attack. Gardner, 58, who operates a Cataula blacksmith shop, said he has put 600 hours of work into the project, with another 100 to 200 to go. Gardner said the silo is probably a century old and was part of a Strickland family farm in south Meriwether County. He acquired it in exchange for dismantling and removing it. ``I love this steel,'' he said. ``Jim Strickland said he played in this silo when he was young. These wrought-iron sheets are coveted by blacksmiths. My recommendation is they leave it alone and let it rust.'' The feathers were cut from the contoured panels and individually attached to the framework to form the bird's legs, body and wings. The eagle monument was the brainchild of Cy Dietrich, a veteran music and performing arts teacher at Dexter. It will be placed in a memorial garden to remember past teachers and others associated with the school and those who lost their lives at The Pentagon, Principal Vicki Rogers said. The eagle Dexter's school mascot originally was to have a four-foot wingspan. Once Dietrich returned home from Washington, D.C., with a large piece of The Pentagon wall damaged in the terrorist attack, Gardner said he realized he had to make it bigger to make its proportions compatible with the base, which includes the stone. The eagle's wings will be raised as if coming in for a landing. In this position, Gardner said, they stretch out 14 feet. Dietrich led students in several fund-raising projects to help cover the sculptor's overhead. ``We're going to have raise $6,000 to complete the project,'' he said. ``Cy is such a talented and creative individual,'' Rogers said. ``He gives so much to his school and community and especially serves as a role model for our students.'' The students decided to name the eagle Herbie for the school's namesake, Army Maj. Herbert Dexter, who was a member of the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles. Dexter was killed in Vietnam before the school opened in 1969. He had undergone some training at Fort Benning. The sculpture will be very heavy, Gardner said. He estimates the feathers will weigh 600 pounds; the tail and body, 600 pounds; and the decorative and structural bases, a combined 600 pounds. That doesn't include the Pentagon stone. Gardner's experience in metal work goes back 25 years to his days as a schoolteacher in Arizona. He said he began experimenting with blacksmithing and later decided to change careers. He quit doing special effects for movies in 1993 after working on a production in Senoia, Ga., entitled ``The War,'' featuring Kevin Costner. ``I liked Georgia. I was looking for a place to get out of L.A.,'' he said. He then settled in LaGrange, later came to Harris County and operated a shop on the northwest side of the county before coming to Cataula.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/192808