Sertoma Club helps U.S. flags fly high on 9/11 anniversary
By Cameron Montemayor
On a day meant to honor and remember the victims of 9/11, local volunteers made sure the red, white and blue of Old Glory was displayed proudly throughout St. Joseph on Wednesday.
This year marks 23 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
As the sun rose in the early morning hours, members of the St. Joseph Sertoma Club moved throughout the city — from Frederick Avenue to the Belt Highway — displaying more than 150 U.S. flags at various businesses.
“It’s very rewarding the whole process of the flags that we do, but today, especially,” said Penny Adams, a longtime member of the club. “I can remember 23 years ago and about this time is exactly when it came on the news. I’m thankful that these businesses are helping us to honor those lives that were lost.”
By the time most people were awake Wednesday, various routes throughout St. Joseph had anywhere from 20 to 30 American flags flying high. Adams and friend Sandy Evans helped on the south portion of the Belt Highway starting at Walmart.
The Sertoma Club has provided community service, education and support in St. Joseph for nearly 100 years and holds close to a dozen flag display events annually. The club first began displaying flags on a regular basis in the 1960s during the Vietnam War.
“It’s very heartwarming. And it reminds us, even though some of us are on different sides of a fence or in different locations, we’re all still Americans and we all still honor and respect our tradition of our heritage, our nation,” Adams said.
Bill and Judy McMurray took charge of displaying flags along the northern portion of the Belt Highway. The two still vividly remember being at the World Trade Center just months before the attack and the range of emotions from that day.
As the number of flags across St. Joseph grew Wednesday, McMurray couldn’t help but think of the countless firefighters who did the same at ground zero after 9/11.
“I remember the picture of the firemen putting the flag up at the World Trade Center after the disaster,” Bill McMurray said. “This is nothing for us to show patriotism. We’re really standing on the shoulders of giants, those firefighters in New York who did this so many years ago.”
Among the many memories from that day, including an iconic religious service at Yankee Stadium, the ensuing days and months brought countless lives closer together through compassion for one another and the country.
“All the different religions came together: Muslims, Christians, Jews, everybody and said, ‘We are Americans,’” Bill McMurray said.
Along with honoring the victims and paying tribute to those impacted by the 9/11 attacks, many see the display of flags as a way to strengthen patriotism and honor the responsibilities that come with the freedoms of being a U.S. citizen.
