9/11 Memorial Flag Now on Display at AF Museum

9/11 Memorial Flag Now on Display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

The 9/11 Memorial Flag, a large handmade tribute honoring those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is now on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force™. The flag will remain on display through the end of August.

The 22-foot by 32-foot flag was created in the months following the attacks through “United We Stand, United We Sew,” a volunteer effort led by creator and curator Thomas McBrien. More than 450 students, children, volunteers, teachers and senior citizens from Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Hunterdon County, New Jersey; and the New York area helped sew the memorial together over five months.

McBrien, who lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, approximately 68 miles from New York City, said the project began from a personal need to respond after watching the attacks unfold.

“I needed to do something,” McBrien said. “I felt compelled to show support, healing and patriotism.”

The flag includes 2,983 miniature American flags, each bearing the name of someone killed in the attacks. It also incorporates 86 national flags representing the countries from which victims came, along with flags, emblems and patches honoring rescue, recovery and emergency-response organizations.

The flag also includes four large U.S. flags that, according to McBrien, flew over the U.S. Capitol, the New York State Capitol, the Pennsylvania State Capitol and the Bucks County Courthouse on Dec. 21, 2001. McBrien said the coordinated tribute was held in remembrance of the first Christmas season many 9/11 families would face without their loved ones.

The completed flag was first presented at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York on March 11, 2002 — exactly six months after the attacks. Since then, McBrien has traveled with the flag for 24 years, displaying it at military installations, museums, state capitols, the Pentagon, the USS Intrepid, locations in Canada and overseas, including Iraq.

Over time, the flag has become both a traveling memorial and a record of remembrance. Signatures and patches from service members, first responders, civic leaders, international visitors and others have been added during its journey.

“This belongs to everybody,” McBrien said. “It’s considered a national treasure and a piece of American history.”

The 9/11 Memorial Flag is displayed in the Museum's Cold War Gallery. Admission to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is free, and the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.