Video: Hackleburg Builds Human Cross to Honor Tornado Victims

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HACKLEBURG, Al. (WCBI) — Hackleburg residents honor those who lost their lives 4 years ago Monday, when an E-F-5 tornado tore through town.
Hackleburg residents came together Monday, making this human cross.

It’s a symbol honoring those that lost their life on April 27th 2011, when an EF5 tornado tore through the county.

And as the town still works to rebuild, this cross is a symbol of hope.

“Get people back together and get people talking gain because, you know we still have plenty of scars here to show that the tornado came through, but we also, in the stage of rebuilding have come along way, ” says Mayor Whitey Cochran.

Among the ruins that day,  Hackleburg School, two convenience stores and city hall, two rebuilt and open again, two are set to open soon.

But of all the things that have been built since that tragic day, this may be the most important. A permanent memorial for the 18 people that lost their lives that day.

One of those names is Linda Knight, for her husband Roger, that day feels like yesterday.

“I hate that I had to lose my best friend and buddy, ” Roger Knight.

Now, her memory will live on through a scholarship that was started in her name.

” Overwhelms me these people up here, taking her name, in her honor, for that scholarship. It’s a big family, these towns are family,” says Knight.

A family that says their struggles have only made them closer.