Tennessee Riverpark | Chattanooga, TN | Stainless steel, dichroic glass, granite | 20’ H x 22’ 3 ½” W
On July 16, 2015, a gunman opened fire at a military recruitment center in Chattanooga, TN, fleeing by car to the nearby US Navy Operational Support Center before discharging his weapon at the Center’s service personnel. Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan, Sergeant Carson Holmquist, Lance Corporal Squire “Skip” Wells and Staff Sergeant David Wyatt were killed instantly. Logistics Specialist Second Class Randall Smith died a few days later at a local hospital.
The City of Chattanooga and the Fallen Five Memorial Steering Committee issued a nationwide Call to Artists to commission an artist-led multidisciplinary design team to commemorate those killed with a permanent memorial at the city’s Tennessee Riverpark. The intent of the memorial was to honor the Fallen Five and their families with a timeless place of remembrance that encourages visitors to pray, reflect and engage in a communal healing process. The community identified themes of dignity, resilience, love, strength and sacrifice were identified as the central, enduring values of the memorial.
Throughout his career as an artist, Gordon has collaborated with many communities across the country, developing memorials and monuments to traumatic events and sensitive topics. This experience has led to his reputation as an empathetic listener. His ability to respond to the needs of each community with the appropriate sensitivity, care and understanding has led to his success in creating memorials that contribute meaningfully to their site and community and to the memory of those lost far too soon.
Gordon’s proposal for the Fallen Five Memorial focused on a primary sculpture of five 20-foot-tall overlapping stainless-steel rings. The circle, with no beginning and no end, has been used since time immemorial as a symbol of infinity and wholeness and unity. To further the theme of unity, the rings were interwoven, creating a unified collection of five distinct forms, conveying the interdependence that exists within a community. A fin of blue and gold dichroic glass attaches to the inner band of each ring. The colors blue and gold were selected for their symbolic use: blue conveys freedom, strength, loyalty, faith and protection; gold for love, compassion, courage and hope. Dichroic glass, with its light-sensitive surface, would create an engaging array of color as it reflects light around the Memorial.
A second element of the Memorial is comprised of five 30-foot-long “rays” of rough-hewn, unpolished granite emanating from the central Five Rings sculpture. Each ray serves as a pathway that directs the viewer’s eye from a series of five granite benches at the rear of the site towards the sculpture and the river behind it. Each bench is engraved with the name and rank of one of the Fallen Five, a memorial that presents viewers with the opportunity to sit alongside and commune with the memory of one of the Fallen. A bronze memorial plaque and landscaping of white flowers, chosen for their symbolic use at sites of remembrance, honor and reverence, complete the Memorial site.
