September 11, 2008 Mass. woman preserves moment at Ground Zero Play video

(Danica Pecirep, NECN) - Its a scene that Americans will never forget- the raising of the flag at Ground Zero seven years ago. One Worcester woman has worked to preserve the moment - by painting it as a watercolor.

I want them to be moved, I want them to realize that there was something special that happened that day.

Christina Giza - works at UMass hospital in Worcester. Two months ago her brother gave her a photograph of this image of the firefighters at Ground Zero. He asked her to use her talent to share it with others.

“He gave me the photograph- and I took it with me on my vacation and sketched and sketched and said maybe I should do this.”

Giza finished the piece- titled lest we forget- just over a week ago. She says she wanted to finish it in time for the anniversary- but made sure she got every detail just right.

“I felt that the three firemen must have been doing a lot of hard work and i wanted to portray that.”

Giza's personal connection is to her son. Like so many others- she was unable to get hold of him in New York for hours after the attacks. She has visited the site and says she’s hopeful her painting relays the feeling of being there.

“I did that whole feeling around them- meaning there is a bldg behind them that was just torn down, that was devastated, that is not there anymore.”

It's on display at the UMass medical school library. Those who have seen it say it's moving. I think

“I think as artists we all tend to do that- whatever happens socially or anything that goes on around us- we want to be able to say this is what happened and I want you to remember this.”