On the Threshold of Hurricane Irene Comes the Patriot Flag

For just a moment, forget about Hurricane Irene.

Take a drive down Inman Ave. and prepared to have your breath taken away. The Colonia Fire Dept. is hosting the arrival of a 56 ft. American flag that will fly over all three 9/11 sites on the anniversary of the attacks.

But get there quick: the flag leaves on Friday, Aug. 26. 

And when this version of the Stars and Stripes is unfurled in the air, you can't miss it.

The Patriot Flag - a gigantic American flag stretching 56 feet across, 30 feet high, and weighing 75 pounds - has been touring the United States all year long, and is in our area until early Saturday.

"I'm very proud that we have the opportunity to display the flag," said Bob Green, Chief of the Colonia Fire Department.  "It's an honor."

For the Colonia FD, hosting the flag just weeks before the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks holds special meaning.  "For two days [after the 9/11 attacks], we were part of Engine 249, Ladder 113 in Brooklyn," explains Green.  Eight members of the Colonia Fire Department worked out of that Brooklyn firehouse on mutual aid following 9/11.

The flag has been in all 50 states for some amount of time, according to Craig Freeman, Tour Coordinator for the 9/11 Patch Project, which is running a Manhattan to Manhattan Bus Tour and occasionally meets up with the Patriot Flag tour while on the road.  Starting from Manhattan Beach, California, Freeman and his wife Pam have, like the Patriot Flag, been touring the country on an awareness and fund raising mission, stopping at fire houses throughout the nation.

"I'd never really driven east of the Rockies before (starting the tour)," said Freeman.  "It's just been a phenomenal exercise in meeting Americans across the country.  Every firefighter I've met across the country has been like a lost brother."

With the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks just weeks away, it only seemed natural that these two touring events would meet up in New Jersey.  While the Patriot Flag has often been in some communities for a brief amount of time, it will be in Colonia for two days, Thursday and Friday.  "When I heard it was going to be here for two days, I was surprised," said Freeman, noting that towns such as Joilet, Illinois only had the flag for a few hours before it was moved on to it's next stop.

Saturday afternoon, the flag will head to East Rutherford, where 24 members of the Colonia Fire Department and six members of the West Point Fire Department will unfurl the flag during the National Anthem of the Giants/Jets pre-season football game at MetLife Stadium (formerly New Meadowlands Stadium).  The flag will then be passed on to the WPFD where it will continue it's tour in New York.  On 9/11/11, the flag will be flown in all three attack sites, being flown from the Pentagon to Shanksville, PA to New York, where it will fly over Times Square.

Also traveling with the flag is a guestbook and piece of flag for members of the public to sign.  The piece of flag - which was originally a piece of the Patriot Flag that was removed during repairs - holds thousands of signatures and inscriptions from both firefighters and average citizens of the communities the flag has been displayed in.

As for the Freemans and the 9/11 Patch Project bus tour, they will be stopping in Carteret on Saturday before heading north to continue the tour.  They've been on the road since late January, and have been through some harrowing conditions on their coast-to-coast trek.

"When we were in Arizona, they had some of the coldest weather they've ever had," said Craig, noting that they've also been through record cold in Nevada and at least five tornado warnings (including being nearby when a tornado decimated the town of Joplin, Missouri).  And of course, the California natives are in New Jersey for the recent earthquake and upcoming hurricane.

"We bought that with us," said Pam of the earthquake.

They, too, will be in New York City for the tenth anniversary of 9/11, stopping in Brooklyn on September 8th and continuing on to Manhattan.  After that, it's back on the road for another month and a half, ultimately returning to southern California on October 23rd.

"'We Will Never Forget' doesn't mean that on the tenth anniversary, it's all over," said Craig.  "It means just that, we will never forget."

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