Fire Captain Dave Wilcox snaps a photograph of the “Human Flag” created at Buena High School on Sunday,
the 10th Anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (Melissa Marshall • Herald/Review)
Posted on 09/12/2011 3:52:54 PM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — When the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, left the nation reeling in sorrow and sadness, the ideas of how best to remember the fallen were plentiful.
Flags, ribbons, flowers and other mementos adorned makeshift memorials across the nation, and locally, a giant American flag, created by Americans, for Americans, and expressing the true pride that comes with being an American, was created four days after the attack at Tucson Electric Park as thousands gathered to work on mending the wounded heart of the nation.
And with such success in drawing people together back in 2001, what better way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 than to again bring the community together in support of the American spirit.
On Sunday on the Buena High School football field, upwards of a thousand people wearing red, white, and blue gathered together once again to form a giant American Flag.
“This is about the people. It is a living American flag made by Americans,” said Rich Donovan, a local radio personality and lead organizer of the event.
“We are trying to repeat the success of the first flag,” Donovan said, adding that he was also involved in that project back in 2001.
“I was in charge of the whites,” he said with a smile.
When asked about the main goal of the creating the flag, Donovan replied that it was designed “To bring everyone together and to honor those that were lost.
And I’m glad to see people are feeling that,” he said looking out across the crowd.
Valerie Davidson, another main contributor to the organizational effort, said she started the morning off with tears, but quickly pulled herself together in order to celebrate to power of American pride.
“We are here as a community to remember the violation … and to celebrate the recovery and resilience since that time,” she said.
“Seeing it come together, I’ve had chills all day,” she said, adding that the project was first conceived about 12 months ago and steadily progressed over the last seven or eight months.
“I am almost speechless. This is just amazing,” Davidson said.
For Chris Sittler, 25, April Scriven, 22, Jessica Pape, 26, and Joshua Pape, 28, a group of student representing the UofA South student government, participating in the project was about pulling the positive from a negative experience.
“It is definitely positive to come together as a community like this,” Jessica said. “A positive celebration of coming together after such a tragedy.”
Representing those in blue, Sittler said that “The (Monument) fire is a great example. There is a lot of power in people coming together,” he said. “The community itself is so strong,” said Scriven.
Representing the participants in white, April Clark, who’s father is from New York, brought along her four children: Kaylei, 8, Cristopher, 6, Joshua, 3, and Serena, 11.
“9/11 is a big thing for us,” she said of her family, adding that her father died in 2007 but she still maintains a small photo memorial of that day inside her home.
“We are here to represent the people that died,” young Serena said. “It was really bad,” she said, recalling recent classrooms lessons describing that horrific day.
Only 1 year old at the time of the attack, Serena said: “If these people were still alive, I think we should give the picture (of the human flag) to them so they know we are here for them.”
After the construction of the flag, an Air Evac helicopter took off from its nearby landing area and flew above the crowd, allowing photographer Carl Price and videographer Crystal Miller to capture the scene so that all future Americans can remember the heroes of that fateful day, can honor the fallen, and can stand tall with the spirit that made this nation the best on Earth.
Special Thanks
If not for the following organizations, the Human Flag project would have never come to fruition:
Sierra Vista Police Department
Sierra Vista Fire Department
Arizona Rangers
Cochise County Sheriff’s Office
Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Explorers
Air Evac
Cochise Collegiate Kiwanis Club
Very cool picture!! Thanks for posting, SandRat. You made my night!
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