- 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.....
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- We parked about a block away to get in and experience
it up close. We weren't the only ones as you can see.
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