National Treasure Captures The American Spirit In Jasper

It’s been almost 10 years since 9/11. But this story started on September 12th. That was a day when the ashes had settled and true American spirit had only started to ignite in the embers. Remnants of a tattered 30-foot American flag covered in soot was hardly recognizable atop a flag pole at 90 West Street across from Ground Zero. But when it caught the eye of construction worker Charlie Vitchers, he saw more than the flag. He saw a symbol of the American spirit … and to this day, millions of Americans see that in the flag, as well.

The National 9/11 Flag is making its way across America before it goes on permanent display at the National September 11 Memorial Museum being built at the World Trade Center in New York. This weekend, the flag will be on display in Ellijay.
On Saturday, the flag will be at the Gilmer County High School from noon until 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., an official flag stitich ceremony will begin. That’s when community servants will have the honor of actually putting a stitch in this national treasure. The flag has been stitched by soldiers and schoolchildren who survived the shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas, by World War II veterans on the deck of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, by the family of Martin Luther King Jr., by 20 Members of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, and by thousands of everyday service heroes nationwide. On President Lincoln’s Birthday, a piece of the flag that Abraham Lincoln was laid on when he was shot at Ford’s Theater was stitched into the fabric of The National 9/11 Flag.

After the flag was taken down from Ground Zero, it was stored in a warehouse where it sat untouched for seven years. During those same years, a group of primarily New York firefighters began volunteering across the country to help disaster victims. It was their way to “pay it forward” and say thank for all the help New York received in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The name of that group is ‘New York Says Thank You.’ Charlie Vitchers, the same construction worker who found the flag, is a member of New York Says Thank You.

Around the 9/11 anniversary in 2008, the New York Says Thank You Foundation, brought the torn remains of the flag with them to Greensburg, Kansas.They were there to help the town rebuild. Greensburg was almost completely leveled in a devastating EF5 tornado. As hundreds of New York Says Thank You volunteers went to work with their hammers, saws and nails, a group of Greensburg citizens began their work to restore this national artifact, using pieces of American flags salvaged from the Greensburg tornado.. This weekend, the flag will be on display in Ellijay. On Saturday, the flag will be at the Gilmer County High School from noon until 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., an official flag stitich ceremony will begin. That’s when community servants will have the honor of actually putting a stitch in this national treasure. The flag has been stitched by soldiers and schoolchildren who survived the shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas, by World War II veterans on the deck of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, by the family of Martin Luther King Jr., by 20 Members of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, and by thousands of everyday service heroes nationwide. On President Lincoln’s Birthday, a piece of the flag that Abraham Lincoln was laid on when he was shot at Ford’s Theater was stitched into the fabric of The National 9/11 Flag.

After the flag was taken down from Ground Zero, it was stored in a warehouse where it sat untouched for seven years. During those same years, a group of primarily New York firefighters began volunteering across the country to help disaster victims. It was their way to “pay it forward” and say thank for all the help New York received in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The name of that group is ‘New York Says Thank You.’ Charlie Vitchers, the same construction worker who found the flag, is a member of New York Says Thank You.

Around the 9/11 anniversary in 2008, the New York Says Thank You Foundation, brought the torn remains of the flag with them to Greensburg, Kansas.They were there to help the town rebuild. Greensburg was almost completely leveled in a devastating EF5 tornado. As hundreds of New York Says Thank You volunteers went to work with their hammers, saws and nails, a group of Greensburg citizens began their work to restore this national artifact, using pieces of American flags salvaged from the Greensburg tornado.

The flag now continues on its journey across the country and accompanies The New York Says Thank You volunteers on their annual projects to help disaster victims. This year, that project is to rebuild the Build An Ark Animal Rescue shelter in Ellijay that was completely destroyed in the April 4th tornado. All events this weekend are being dedicated in honor of Ellijay’s fallen son, 1st Lt. Noah Harris.