“Americans United Flag Across America” -- was an experience I will never forget.

At 1:00 a.m. Monday morning I began to question my sanity as I got out of bed to drive to Pauls Valley to the staging area. Once there, I had no doubt why I had signed on. The group I was to run with came much farther than I did that morning. We had runners from Tulsa, Stillwater, Jones, Shawnee, and Choctaw in our group. We were all there for the same purpose. This was a way for us as runners to honor the victims of September 11 and express our love and support for our country. We wouldn’t miss a chance like this for anything!

At 2:15 a.m. a group of Army men and women arrived from Davis, proudly bringing us the American flag. It was a tremendous sight to see. As they posed for pictures I couldn’t help but think of their uncertain futures and the sacrifices they will ultimately make for all of us.

Now, it was our small group’s turn to get the flag further down the road. Among our group, we were assigned to cover the mileage on Highway 77 between Pauls Valley and Wayne. We agreed to make it a relay with the flag. One of the runners began running with the flag, and the rest of us piled into a small recreational vehicle. (This vehicle began in Boston following runners from across the nation and will continue on to Los Angeles to symbolically finish the routes of the ill-fated American Airlines and United Airlines planes.) The first runner ran a mile then another runner jumped out, took the flag, and began his mile. And, so it continued.

When it was my turn I had been warned how awkward it is to carry the flagpole and run. It did take awhile to become accustomed to it. I reminded myself of the little discomfort I was feeling in relation to the discomfort of our soldiers in the midst of war—that kept things in perspective. Running in the middle of the night, being led by a sheriff’s car while carrying your country’s flag in the heart of America is definitely a time that makes you reflect on many things. I thought about the things we have taken for granted in the U.S. like our way of life as we knew it before September 11 and how very blessed we are to live in a free and prosperous nation.

Once we reached Wayne, Okla., we were running so far ahead of schedule that the next group of runners had not arrived to take the flag on to Lexington. The run coordinators were concerned about getting the flag to Lexington, Norman, and Oklahoma City in time for special events that were scheduled later in the day. They asked if we could continue running all the way to Lexington. We said, “YES!”

So we continued on, taking our turns with one runner running and the rest of us following behind cheering the runner on. When we arrived in Purcell at 5:35 a.m. (25 miles later) we all jumped out of the RV and ran as a group taking turns carrying the American flag the last two miles to Lexington. Along with the flag we carried another pole. Someone had affectionately made the pole for this special journey. It had individual black ribbons attached to it naming each of the American Airlines employees lost in the terrorists’ plots. Cars pulled over and people were lining the streets with their hands and hats over their hearts. It was very emotional.

I’ll never forget the people I ran with that morning and the pride we felt to carry the American flag for our country.

Michelle Hale
November 1, 2001

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