FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Hikers remember 9/11 in New Hampshire’s White Mountains
White Mountains, NH – September 3, 2003 – The second annual “Flags on the 48”, A September 11th Memorial Hike, will take place on Saturday, September 13, 2003 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
The “Flags on the 48” event was established because of the horrific terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001. Three days after the attack, several regular posters on the AMC Hiker Journal on-line message forum banded together and planned a following day hike up Mount Liberty with the biggest flag they could acquire.
On September 15, 2001, six hikers met at the “White House” Trailhead armed with a 96 square foot American flag, 30 feet of PVC tubing, 100 feet of rope, 2 rolls of duct tape, and a mountain of pride and determination. At noon the flag was raised on the summit of Mount Liberty in a tribute to the thousands of innocent people who perished a few days earlier; a small gesture for such a gigantic loss.
The patriotic display received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, and a few weeks later a committee formed to establish a larger memorial for the one year anniversary. A Web site was established at http://flags.alpinezone.com and the “Flags on the 48” was born.
During the first “Flags on the 48” event on September 14, 2002, several hundred patriotic compassionate souls embarked on a journey to raise American flags on all of the summits of the 48 4,000+ foot mountains in New Hampshire. Although still a small gesture for such an incredible loss, the feedback from all of the participants as well as observers was overwhelming.
On September 13, 2003, we are continuing this memorial to unite the hiking community in a show of support to all of the families and communities who suffered tragic losses that day, and to all of the people who have died serving this great country to preserve our freedom.
One of the coordinators, Richard Kipphut, notes why some hikers participate in this memorial: “By demonstrating our steadfast unity as Americans and as hikers, we hope to express our unwavering support to the families and to the communities whose losses are beyond comprehension and whose sacrifices will forever remain in our hearts.”
For more information or to sign up to raise a flag on one of the 48 peaks, visit http://flags.alpinezone.com or E-mail flags03@alpinezone.com.
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