Eight years later , in March 2011 , he received a call from a group of New York City Wall Street bankers who lost friends and co-workers in the 9/11 attacks . Two of the individual Wall Street supporters said they were asked by families and friends if there was a place that individuals could go to remember the U.S. troops overseas who daily combat potential terrorist threats . " We wanted to do something for the special operations community and all military service branches , because every day since 9/11 , we 've had to look at that hole in the ground , " one of the private backers says . " What everyone needs to know is : There are people out there like this team , like the Green Berets , that are willing to sacrifice at all costs for them . " The bankers wanted a large-scale version to lead the Veterans Day parade only six months later . They commissioned Blumberg to build a monument to be placed near Ground Zero , paying $ 500,000 for the work . The Gary Sinese Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation supported the effort to build the monument . No public funds were used
9/11 attacks
September 11 attacks
America's Response Monument