Inside a brass cube is a chunk of soil from where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pa.

A shell casing from the USS Cole was mounted just a few paces behind it.

The centerpieces are pieces of scrap from the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The names of several of the firefighters and police officers who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are etched in the bricks in front of them.

It just so happened Joe Holland, a former New York City firefighter and U.S. Marine, met the kinds of people who could help him make the most authentic 9-11 memorial possible.

"It's personal for me because my son got murdered that day," said Holland, known by his friends for his sobering honesty. "But it should be personal for every American."

The memorial is located in front of the new VFW Post 10209 building at 14736 Edward R. Noll Drive.

John Pasquale, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and New York Fire Department, had a son-in-law who died that day. Holland's son also was a New York firefighter.

Pasquale and Holland are members of the VFW. It was Pasquale who did most of the landscaping work that frames the memorial, Holland said.

The move toward a memorial began three years earlier. Holland spoke with a former VFW commander about his plans when the latter suggested placing it in front of the new building, which opened December 2007 at its current location near Anderson Snow Road.

Ironwood Industries in Spring Hill provided the stands for the vinyl from the World Trade Center and the tile from the Pentagon.

"They galvanized it and fixed it up," said Holland. "They did it for nothing."

He went to other companies looking for a quote to lay down the stonework. He visited with Nature Coast Brick Pavers off nearby County Line Road.

When he asked one of the employees how much they would be willing to charge, she replied, "We'll worry about that later."

Holland later learned there would be no charge.

The charitable contributions from regular people kept coming for Holland and Pasquale.

While visiting Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he met Karen Loftus, a retired officer in the U.S. Navy who served as a liaison between the families of the 9-11 victims and the White House.

When he told her what he was doing in Spring Hill, she described his project to the former commander of the USS Cole, Kirk Lippold.

On Oct. 12, 2000, the USS Cole was harbored off the coast of Yemen when it was targeted for a suicide attack. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed.

Lippold donated a shell casing that was onboard the naval destroyer. Holland is especially fond of it. It was added to the memorial two weeks ago.

Holland also told the story of John Hamilothoris, a former New York City police officer who responded to the World Trade Center the morning of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

He packed the car close to one of the towers, heard the fire engines that were en route and decided to move his car a block further to make certain he wasn't in the way of medical responders.

As he and three other police officers were about to enter one of the towers, someone yelled, "Watch out."

He looked up and saw the building crumble toward the street.

Hamilothoris was injured, but had he not moved his patrol car further from the building, he likely would have been killed, Holland said.

He knew someone who knew someone who worked at the Pentagon. A piece of tile from the building made its way to Holland, who added it to the memorial.

Holland and Pasquale, along with others from the VFW, have been working on the site since June.

More bricks are being etched with the names of those Sept. 11 victims, as well as the local companies that have donated money and materials for the memorial.

"The community has been wonderful," Holland said. "They really came forth and helped a lot."

The VFW will host a ceremony Friday, Sept. 11.