More activities added to Sunday ceremony in honor of 9/11
Posted By Admin on May 31, 2011
By Denise Wilson,
Staff Writer
Updated 2:16 PM Friday, May 20, 2011
A patriot flag making its way across the country to pay tribute to American heroes of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, will be in southwest Ohio this Sunday.
The exhibit is part of an effort to get the flag to 50 states in the 50 weeks leading up to the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The Fairfield Twp. Fire Department and Bridgewater Falls will display the 75-pound flag in honor of the US Armed Forces, first and second responders, 9/11 families and their loved ones who died.
The event will be 1 to 4 pm at Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center in Fairfield Twp., in Butler County.
The patriot flag is scheduled to arrive at Bridgewater Falls at 3355 Princeton Road with a parade escort by the Patriot Guard, local veterans groups, Boy Scout Troops and the Cincinnati Emerald Society Police and Fire Pipes and Drums, said fire Chief David Downie.
The parade route will begin at the fire department on Morris and Princeton roads and travel through the Lakewood Drive subdivision to Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center, said fire Capt. Jim Coggin.
Residents are being asked to wave flags and show their patriotism during the parade, he said.
Upon its arrival, a ceremony will be conducted as the flag is raised into position. During the event, the Fairfield High Choraliers will sing the national anthem, and a Fairfield Twp. resident, Will Liston, will sing a rendition of American country music artist Lee Greenwoods song God Bless the USA, he said.
Brigdewater Falls will be making hand-paintings of large American flags with handprints. The flags will be sent to the first responding fire department of the Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., and the Flight 93 National Memorial, Downie said.
The fire department and several veteran associations will feature informational exhibits at the event. Other participants include Amvets, the American Legion, Blue Star Mothers and the Yellow Ribbon Support Center in Clermont County, Coggin said.
During the event, a group of sky divers from Team Fastrax, a professional sky diving team, will jump with American flags.
The Yellow Ribbon Support Center will be on site selling T-shirts and collecting donations of non perishable items for deployed soldiers, according to a release from Bridgewater Falls.
The patriot flag has been traveling the country and displayed by fire departments across the nation. The flag is making its way to New York City, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorials to be displayed on Sept. 11.
Coggin said the township is one of the communities in Ohio that applied to have the flag brought to the area.
Its a big deal because we want to honor those who have fallen in 9/11 and those that currently serve in the armed forces, public service, and those that have served in the past, he said.
Our goal is to share the patriotic flag. We want to share the significance of that flag. Its reinforcement we are united as a country and have not forgotten the events of 9/11.
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
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