Following the Flag: National 9/11 Flag Stitched with ‘Lincoln Flag’
Charles Vitchers, a superintendent for construction in charge of cleanup after 9/11, salvaged a 20 foot by 30 foot flag that flew above the 22-story building on 90 West St. that sustained damage from the collapse of the south tower. This flag would become the backbone of the National 9/11 Flag, now touring the country. During the cleanup, Vitchers narrowed his focus for some time on salvaging the flag. He didn’t want it lost.
“We started to notice it was hanging by a thread," Vitchers said in a report from the Pocono Record. "It was flying in the breeze, and it started getting ripped up." One day in October, the mission to get the flag was on. "The guys started at 7 a.m. and came back to my office with the flag at 3 p.m.," Vitchers said.
Last week, the flag arrived in Milford, Pa. Volunteers stitched a thread from a U.S. flag called the Lincoln flag —a flag which was stained with President Lincoln's blood when it cushioned his head as he died at Ford Theater. The Lincoln flag was presented to Milford in 1954 by the son of actress Jeannie Gourlay, according to the report.
The flag will be stitched in all 50 states and then placed in the permanent collection of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum being built at the World Trade Center.
By 9/11 Memorial Staff
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