Fleet Week Sailors Help Display National 9/11 Flag

By Mass Communcication Specialist 1st Class Jeremy K. Johnson, Navy Public Affairs Support Element East

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (NNS) -- Sailors from USS Mitscher (DDG-57), USS Gonzales (DDG-66) and USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) joined members of the New York Says Thank You Foundation (NYSTY) in a brief ceremony to unfurl and display the National 9/11 Flag at The Sullivans Pier May 26.

Also participating in the ceremony were local Boy Scouts, New York Civil Air Patrol members, Fleet Week volunteers and Fleet Week attendees.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate," said Seaman Dustin Johnson of USS Mitscher.

The 30-foot American flag displayed was discovered hanging on the side of a building tattered and torn, close to where the World Trade Center towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001. The flag was recovered, and has been fully restored by NYSTY volunteers.

"There's a lot of love in this flag," said Jimmy Sands, a NYSTY volunteer and New York City firefighter. "We estimate probably about 6 million people have held this flag since 2008."

Volunteers of the NYSTY organization answered the call to serve after Sept. 11, 2001, and travel around the country to help rebuild communities affected by disasters.

The National 9/11 Flag contains patches from retired flags of all 50 states, patches of flags recovered after the 9/11 disaster, a patch stitched aboard USS Missouri (BB-63) on Pearl Harbor Day by World War II survivors, and many more patches representing the strong history and pride of our nation.

Fire Controlman 3rd Class Jeremy Kirby of Donald Cook said seeing this flag was a very moving experience.

"To see the way these volunteers came together to repair this flag is encouraging. It shows what we can do as Americans if we just believe in ourselves."

Held nearly every year since 1984, Fleet Week New York is the city's celebration of sea services. Fleet Week New York provides an opportunity for the citizens of New York City and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as see, first-hand, the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. More than 6,000 service men and women from the U.S. and coalition nations are participating.

This year, Fleet Week New York is one of the signature events around the country commemorating OpSail 2012, the bicentennial of the War of 1812, and the Star-Spangled Banner. The Commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 is a salute to all Sailors and Marines who fought gallantly in that conflict, who served in all our nation's conflicts since then, and who are defending freedom around the world.