Sunday, September 11, will be the 21st anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. That day, terrorists hijacked U.S. airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
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As a result of the attacks, 2,726 people were killed in New York and 184 people were killed at the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after crew members and passengers attempted to retake control from the hijackers. All 40 of the crew and passengers on that flight were killed.
This September 11, Wreaths Across America (WAA), a nonprofit organization, asks Americans to wave flags in their own communities to commemorate the anniversary. The organization will also host a live event on Facebook that you can participate in.
“I hope people will join us this year, both on the anniversary of 9/11, as well as each Tuesday moving forward,” Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America, said in a statement. “This flag waving has taken on new meaning for us all and given a spark of hope for unity and patriotism during this difficult time in our country.”
How To Participate On 9/11
“Members of the WAA family, including staff, volunteers, Gold Star and Blue Star Families, and veterans, will join to share in the patriotic act of waving the flag, and sharing the stories of those who raised their hand to serve following the events of that fateful day,” Wreaths Across America explains.
The flag waving will begin at 8:46 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, September 11, to commemorate when hijackers took control of American Airlines Flight 11 on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, before crashing into the World Trade Center’s North Tower in New York. The flag waving will end at 10:03 a.m. Eastern to remember when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field later that day.
“Participants are encouraged to take video and pictures of their participation in the national flag waving and share them with WAA, their family, and their friends to help WAA in its mission of ‘Remember, Honor, and Teach’ the generation born after 9/11 that hard times can strengthen us as a nation,” Wreaths Across America explains.
You can learn how to watch the Facebook Live event hosted by Wreaths Across America, as well as how you can participate, here.
Waving The Flag After 9/11
Importantly, Wreaths Across America also waves the American Flag every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Eastern in Jonesboro, Maine – and encourages the public to join them.
“Each Tuesday, we are joined by dozens of members of the local community and curious people stopping to be part of something meaningful,” Worcester said.
Here’s how it all started: Not knowing what else to do on September 12, 2001, Elaine Greene took a flag outside in Freeport, Maine, and waved it “to share a message of strength.” She was later joined by her life-long friends Joann Miller and Carmen Footer. Together, the “Freeport Flag Ladies,” as they came to be known, waved a flag in the same spot in Freeport every Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. for 18 years.
After they retired on September 11, 2019, Wreaths Across America and its largest corporate donor, Worcester Wreaths, erected a flagpole and monument dedicated to the Freeport Flag Ladies.
Wreaths Across America also committed to raising the U.S. flag every Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. and has done so since then.
You can learn more about the Freeport Flag Ladies, as well as how you can watch the flag be raised every Tuesday morning at the Freeport Flag Ladies monument, here.
For more about how to honor those lost on 9/11, be sure to read:
