October 2001.......Emmett, Idaho
I returned home to find that someone had taken my American Flag from our yard. At the time, America was still in shock about 9/11 and to this day, I can't believe somebody could be so bold and crazy as to stroll into my "space" and snag my flag. I was angry and frustrated but soon found an incredible outlet for my negative energy.
I had written an angry op-ed piece about the Flag incident in our Idaho "small town" newspaper www.messenger-index.com (I still check in now and then). I came across an article about a local guy named Jim Olson who happened to be launching a project to build a permanent Memorial to 9/11 and ALL of our fallen American Heroes, past and present. The project would include a beautiful engraved monument and an ENORMOUS American Flag. In conjunction with American Legion Post 49, Jim set out to raise community awareness (and funding) for the project. I called Jim and soon joined Post 49 AND the "Flag" project. I created and sold a "Special Edition'" Flag On Freezeout Hill CD to raise funds. I probably gave away more CDs than I sold and my contribution was small compared to the efforts of Jim and the entire Emmett community.
The end result was a resounding success! The Memorial overlooks the valley as a constant reminder of what America sacrificed on 9/11 and proudly serves as the official Idaho State 9/11 Memorial. Jim set up a "Brick" program and patrons may order a custom engraved brick to line the Memorial in support of perpetual maintenance.
You can learn more about Jim and the project:
http://home.bigskytel.com/freezeout/memorial.htm
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