Albuquerque, NM (November 6, 2001) Flag Continues West Toward Los Angeles Through Cheering Crowds in New Mexico;
Flag Runner, Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), Hails Patriotism of New Mexico Participation
The AAmericans United Flag Across America, which began
with Mass. Gov. Jane Swift presenting a U.S. flag to a team in Boston, heads toward an emotional
Veterans Day finish in Los Angeles, as organizers announced today that members of the families of the
aircrews and passengers lost are invited to run the final portion. Other runners will follow, carrying
state flags, finishing the run as “one nation, under God, indivisible.”
“We want to offer the families of those killed an opportunity to ‘complete the flights’ for their
loved ones who never made it to their destinations,” said National Communications Coordinator First
Officer Todd Wissing. “The aircrews’ families will lead the way, carrying the flag to the final
symbolic arrival of all four flights. In this way, we will all honor those lost on that fateful day.”
AA Flight 11 and UAL Flight 175 left Boston, and, along with AA Flight 77, were due to
land at Los Angeles.
The organization, composed of a grassroots team of airline employees from American and
United airlines, military personnel and now many other volunteers, has traveled more than
halfway across the country – more than 2,400 miles. Cheered by thousands of residents as it toured
through Albuquerque, N.M., the flag stopped at a rally, featuring veterans and firefighters involved in
the Ground Zero clean-up.
At a ceremony in the City Plaza area, Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), an Air Force
Academy graduate and the first woman veteran to serve in Congress, emotionally told the history of
the U.S. flag. “This was the flag that was made from pieces of blanket in a prison camp in Bataan;
this was the flag that flies above the wreck of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor,” she related,
reminding the crowd of the times that our nation has relied on unity to respond to tragedy.
New Mexico State Coordinator Dee Friesen, a Captain with American Airlines, said,
“We are saying to the world that we will not allow the terrorists to change the way we live.”
The flag, which has visited Ground Zero in Manhattan and has touched all states hit by the
Sept. 11 attacks, was flown in the cockpit of an F-16 fighter over Southern Iraq as part of
Operation Southern Watch. It will finish its journey at Los Angeles International Airport at 2 p.m. on
Nov. 11, in scenic Dockweiler State Park, on the shore of the Pacific, 3, 872 miles from where it began
Oct. 11.
For complete route data and other real-time details, visit the Web site at www.flagrun2001.org.
Every visitor is encouraged to visit the donations page of the Web site and make a contribution to the
Flag Run fund which will be split among seven funds benefiting the children and families of those
killed Sept. 11, 2001.
Corporate sponsors are still needed for run-related expenses. The run is supported by
donations and equipment from AT&T Wireless, Microsoft, Dell, ExxonMobil, CruiseAmerica®
Recreational Vehicles, Hilton Hotel-Boston Logan Airport, Minerva Network Systems, Marriott
Hotels, Allied Pilots Association and the Rack Restaurant in Boston, Mass., and many others.
Media contacts are preferred through the web site e-mail (media@flagrun2001.org), or call Media Relations Coordinator First Officer Todd Wissing at 646-555-5555.
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Updated: 11 October 2002
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