CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- This year marks the 23rd anniversary of one of the darkest chapters in modern American history when nearly 3,000 lives were lost during the Sept. 11 terror attacks. But Chesterfield resident John Riley’s mind lingers on one life in particular.
“I lost one of my best friends on 9/11. A guy I grew up with — Doug Ketcham,” Riley said. “This year in particular is very poignant to think what life would have been like for him and 2,977 total lives that were lost that day.”
Ketcham’s memory drives Riley never to forget, the same compulsion that motivated Henrico resident Richard Melito to create a symbol days after the 9/11 attacks, that ensured people all over the state and country had a uniform way to remember.
“We have to find a way to teach in our schools and now that’s what we’re doing,” Melito said.
That symbol is the Freedom Flag. Melito first sketched the flag on a paper napkin at a table at his Henrico Restaurant, Melito’s.
The flag's design is symbolic as the two broad red stripes in the middle represent the Twin Towers and the lives lost in the World Trade Center and on American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175. The top red stripe represents those who perished at the Pentagon and on American Airlines Flight 77. And the bottom red stripe is for the 40 lives lost on United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Riley and Melito both agree that a teaching tool like the Freedom Flag is necessary as the population of people who have no memory of the Sept. 11 attacks continues to grow.
“The number of Americans who were either too young to remember 9/11 or born after 9/11 is close to 100 million. Approximately 25% of our country is effectively post-9/11," Riley said. “Having a symbol like the freedom flag is a simple way to teach that next generation something they can remember, something that tells that who, what, when, where of that day."
Thanks in part to Riley and Melito’s efforts, the Freedom Flag Foundation they helped to create has established curriculum and classrooms all over the country for students and even some teachers who were born after 9/11.
According to Riley, this year alone, between the Virginia, Delaware, and Oklahoma state education departments, educational materials about the Freedom Flag made their way to more than 4,000 k-12 public schools reaching more than 2 million students across the country.
“All of our first responder community, all of our men and women in the military who defend our freedoms 24/7, that symbol of remembrance teaches and honors the entire country and keeps that memory alive,” Riley said. It’s a starting point for that next generation and even for the teachers that the graduating class of new teachers this year is 22 to 23 years old, they really don’t have a memory of 9/11 so they have to be taught how to teach about 9/11.
The flag is already the official remembrance flag in Virginia, Delaware and Oklahoma.
North Carolina, Alabama Kentucky, Minnesota and possibly Maryland, Ohio and California are expected to introduce legislation later this year to also adopt it, according to Riley.
But Riley says he wants to go further by pushing for the Freedom flag to reach all 50 states, by 2026.
“As we approach the 25th anniversary we’d like to see this symbol become the national symbol of remembrance for 9/11. Riley said.
“It’s going to take your help to get it done,” said Melito.
If you would like more information about the freedom flag and the race to make it the national symbol you can find that information at freedomflagfoundation.org
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