Quinn Luther, 6, of Eureka holds a flag up as dog tags are attached to it while helping her father post a sea of American flags on Art Hill in Forest Park, part of the Flags of Valor display leading to the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Robert Cohen
Artist Michael Anderson of Belleville joins members of the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association on Art Hill in Forest Park to paint the Flags of Valor display in advance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Robert Cohen
"What he did was selfless," said Kelly Zahn, a volunteer with the Patriot Training Foundation, as she checks the dog tags of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz in the Flags of Valor display on Art Hill in Forest Park on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Schmitz, of Wentzville, was among the 13 U.S. service members killed in a bombing in Kabul on Aug. 26. His body will return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ this week. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Robert Cohen
Retired Marine Tom Rhoades, far right, of Oakville stands among the 7582 American flags posted on Art Hill in Forest Park for the Flags of Valor display in advance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Rhoades was among more than 400 volunteers that posted the flags early Sunday. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Robert Cohen
"I feel like he is standing next to me," said Afghan refugee Bacha Bachawali, who gathers his emotions after finding the flag for Army Green Beret Ssgt Robert Miller in the Flags of Valor display in Forest Park on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Miller, 24, was killed by the Taliban while working beside Bachawali in January 2008, where Bachawali served as a colonel in the Afghan army, working as a linguist for American special forces from 2002-2018. He also was among a team of Afghan soldiers who recovered Miller's body. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
ST. LOUIS — Art Hill underwent a dramatic transformation Sunday morning, turning from its usual expanse of green into a sea of red, white and blue.
Hundreds of volunteers quickly covered the Forest Park landmark with about 7,500 American flags — one for each of the nation’s men and women killed in military combat since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the 412 first responders who perished in the line of duty that day.
Combined, the flags are enough to weigh 24 tons, said Rick Randall, who helped coordinate the Flags of Valor event, held on every five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. If one were to walk each row of flags, they’d cover about 11.5 miles, he added.
The weeklong memorial — which will remain on display through next Sunday — looks to remember and honor the sacrifices of the many individuals whose lives have been lost over the last 20 years, with each flag bearing photos and dog tags of the person it represents. Photo boards at the base of the hill also depict the nearly 3,000 victims killed on Sept. 11.
Volunteers included veterans, family members of those who have served and a range of other people. Many had their own personal reasons to take part in the event and said that the resulting spectacle feels like an especially powerful form of remembrance.
“You don’t realize the number of fallen soldiers until you see this,†said April Johnson, a Hillsboro resident whose 20-year-old son, Spc. Jackson Johnson, was killed overseas in 2019. “It’s just an overwhelming mix of emotions, just to see that.â€
“When you see it with this kind of majesty and this kind of volume, you see how large the sacrifice is,†added Randall.
Yet amid the sprawling scale of the memorial, each flag’s corresponding photo “makes it personal,†said Paul Carlock, a volunteer from St. Charles, who has also helped out with the event in the past.
That personal toll wasn’t lost on those in attendance Sunday morning.
“They gave all; I gave nothing,†said Tom Wootten of Cottleville, another volunteer. “The least I can do is honor them.â€
All the work that went into the memorial seemed to effectively catch attention — and stir emotion — among passersby, with people on nearby walkways craning their heads and pausing for photos. One of them was Brittany Webb, a ºüÀêÊÓƵ resident who was out for a jog, but said she was “overwhelmed,†as she stopped to document a photo and video of the flag-covered scene with her phone.
“I love it. I think we need more of this kind of thing,†said Webb. “We need something like this to bring us all together.â€
Photos: Thousands of flags fill Art Hill for 9/11 anniversary
‘Over time, it becomes more and more like history instead of current events.’
Quinn Luther, 6, of Eureka holds a flag up as dog tags are attached to it while helping her father post a sea of American flags on Art Hill in Forest Park, part of the Flags of Valor display leading to the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Artist Michael Anderson of Belleville joins members of the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association on Art Hill in Forest Park to paint the Flags of Valor display in advance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
"What he did was selfless," said Kelly Zahn, a volunteer with the Patriot Training Foundation, as she checks the dog tags of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz in the Flags of Valor display on Art Hill in Forest Park on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Schmitz, of Wentzville, was among the 13 U.S. service members killed in a bombing in Kabul on Aug. 26. His body will return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ this week. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Retired Marine Tom Rhoades, far right, of Oakville stands among the 7582 American flags posted on Art Hill in Forest Park for the Flags of Valor display in advance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. The display represents members of the military and first responders who have been killed since 9/11. Rhoades was among more than 400 volunteers that posted the flags early Sunday. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
"I feel like he is standing next to me," said Afghan refugee Bacha Bachawali, who gathers his emotions after finding the flag for Army Green Beret Ssgt Robert Miller in the Flags of Valor display in Forest Park on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Miller, 24, was killed by the Taliban while working beside Bachawali in January 2008, where Bachawali served as a colonel in the Afghan army, working as a linguist for American special forces from 2002-2018. He also was among a team of Afghan soldiers who recovered Miller's body. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.