The Flag was escorted into Springfield over the Memorial Bridge by the Springfield Police and Fire Departments, AMR, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and the Massachusetts Patriot Guard Riders as part of the New England Run for the Fallen, a tribute to every New England fallen service member who died as a result of serving from any circumstance during the war on terror.
A mounted honor guard from the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and members of the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing from Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport joined with dignitaries and members from the Springfield Police and Fire Departments, members of the Massachusetts Chapter of Honor and Remember, Massachusetts Patriot Guard Riders, and Veterans escorted the Flag to the September 11th Memorial Monument
Vanessa Ford, ‘Songstress of Springfield’, sang the National Anthem and Tony Cignoli served as the emcee for the ceremony.
The flag was flown between the World Trade Center’s North and South Towers following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, outside the New York Port Authority makeshift office trailer, deployed to Iraq, and flown around the country. It has numerous signatures, and can only be touched by white cotton gloves to protect it from being damaged.
The flag arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday, August 7, 2022, and was presented to the Massachusetts Honor and Remember Chapter, led by Chapter Director Brian Miller. After it departs Springfield, it will go to Northampton, Massachusetts, as it prepares to be carried in the New England Run for the Fallen from August 19 to 21, 2022, from Bernardston, Massachusetts, to Kittery, Maine.
Mayor Sarno states, “It’s an honor and a solemn occasion for the City of Springfield to escort and welcome the Ground Zero Flag to our September 11th Memorial Monument at Riverfront Park. We must never forget and always remember the brave and dedicated first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice to save lives on September 11, 2001. This Flag has been a symbol of our nations strength and resolve, flying proud with the American Spirit outside the NY Port Authority makeshift office trailer at Ground Zero, in Iraq and deployed on several ships overseas. I want to thank the Massachusetts Chapter Honor and Remember and New England Run for The Fallen for reaching out and coordinating with our Police and Fire Departments and the Spirit of Springfield. America continues to shine as a beacon of hope, strength and democracy, and this Flag and our country will endure and prosper.”
Springfield dedicated the September 11th Memorial Monument at Riverfront Park with a bronze wall behind the lone steel beam structure from the World Trade Center, which was donated to the Spirit of Springfield by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The bronze wall is engraved with the names of the 498 first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
