The National 9/11 Flag, which has been on a “restoration tour” nationwide, has made its way to Sag Harbor on Long Island.
The flag was presented last Saturday in honor of the Wounded Warrior Amputees Softball Game, the Sag Harbor Express reported.
The 20-by-30-foot flag has been to all 50 states. Until the 9/11 attacks, the flag was located near the World Trade Center on 90 West St. After the attacks, Charlie Vitchers, the construction superintendent for 9/11 cleanup, and his team rescued what they could of the flag. The flag is currently traveling the country as part of stitching ceremonies to restore it to its original glory, according to the New York Says Thank You Foundation.
After the tattered flag was recovered, women from a senior citizen center in Greensburg, Kan., volunteered to stitch the flag back together. Since nearly half of the flag was lost in the 9/11 attacks, the women used material of surviving flags from a recent tornado to stitch to the existing flag. After its restoration, the flag is estimated to have been stitched by 50,000 different people from all over the country.
The National 9/11 Flag is to become a part of a permanent collection at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
By Allyson Philobos, Communications Associate for the 9/11 Memorial