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23 hand-built crosses honor Lee County tornado victims

Greg Zanis is meticulous about his work and makes sure each of the 23 white crosses he built to honor the victims of Alabama tornados is lined up perfectly.

Greg Zanis is meticulous about his work.

He makes sure each of the 23 white crosses he built to honor the victims of Alabama tornados is lined up perfectly.

But that doesn’t mean each cross is the same.

Greg is quick to tell you he makes sure no two crosses look the same, just like the people they honor.

“It’s just trying to show our country something that isn’t even the cross. It’s that red heart on there. It’s oversized, you see it, it’s prominent and its uniting people together in a way that no one else can do it. It’s bringing in hope,” said Zanis.

Zanis, a carpenter from Illinois, built his first cross after his father-in-law was murdered.

23 years later, he’s brought thousands to nearly every major national tragedy with his organization “Crosses for Losses.”

“When they see this, it just shows really what happened. Even if you don’t see the names, you see this line of memorials here,” he said.

The death toll from Sunday’s tornado that wiped out parts of Beauregard, Alabama, stands at 23.

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