FW: Awesome

Hadn't seen this before...

3,031 Large Flags in Utah


Utah remembers the victims of September 11, 2001

I never heard or saw anything about this in the media. I was going to the bank
when I saw this. I went home, got my wife Linda, and came back with a camera.
Below is my best, though inadequate, attempt to share the experience with
you.....



The above picture was taken on the mall in front of the Sandy, Utah city hall.
Scroll sideways to see the whole thing. I pasted the photos together to try
and help show just how big this thing was, but even with that, the photos
don't do it justice. There was very little publicity about this, but it was a
real traffic stopper. People would park and get out and walk among the flags.
Some brought bundles of flowers and left them at the base of a flag. Others
came together and just hugged each other hard in the silent memory of the
terrible loss that we suffered one year ago. We all know over 3000 people lost
their lives, but seeing this display, and walking among it, helps put
perspective on just how big a number that is.



Close up of the one of the signs placed around the perimeter of the display.
There were also some international flags on display representing some of the
various foreign nations whose citizens dies that day. Interestingly, this
whole display was done by a local company that manufactures and distributes
flags and flag display equipment...and I saw not a single sign bearing their
name in the display. People walked through, and all you could hear was the
sound of the flags blowing in the breeze. A reverent silence prevailed over
the display as those who came each reviewed his or her experiences of that
fateful day a year ago.



I saw many families while I was there. It was hard watching adults struggling
to cope with their own emotions while caring for children who were far too
young to understand the significance of the flags around them. Too the credit
of the children, I didn't see any who could not somehow sense that this was a
special place. For a few moments, everyone who came, young and old, male and
female, families, and even a group of mentally handicapped individuals stopped
their busy daily lives to remember. If those who caused this pain only knew
how much stronger we have become, and how terribly their comrades have paid,
and will continue to pay, for this horrible crime, I wonder if they still
would have done what they did.



It's hard to picture mentally just how big this thing is. As I walked among
the rows, I was reminded of rank on rank of soldiers standing at attention,
guarding us even now.



Some brought flowers, small flags, notes etc. The flags didn't have individual
names on them so I don't know how people picked out where they would leave
these tokens as they experienced their own memories and grief. For anyone who
has ever shed a few tears at THE WALL (the Viet Nam Veterans memorial in
Washington DC) or during the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier in Arlington, VA, this display is every bit as moving in its sheer
power to remind those who come of just how deeply we all experienced the
cowardly attack on innocent civilians in our own homeland.



We parked about a block away to get in and experience it up close. We weren't
the only ones as you can see.
Please forward in respect for those who died and their families

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