Sun City Huntley 9/11 American Flag Memorial Returns

Three thousand American flags will once again dot Fountain View in Sun City Huntley, honoring every life lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. as the 11^th anniversary approaches.

Last year, Sun City residents Peg Mulhall, Catherine Portera, Barb Sracco, Linda Bahwell and Mary Neigebauer held a that featured a field of American flags, speakers, performances .

This year’s 9/11 American Flag Memorial is a bit different but just as heartfelt.

“We knew we could not duplicate what we did last year so we kept it simple,” Mulhall said in an email.

Organizers and volunteers will place the American flags in the Fountain View plaza at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7 with the Sun City Marines presenting the Colors and leading the Pledge of Allegiance. The Sun City Sun Tones will perform the “Star Spangled Banner.”

Mulhall said the flags are being displayed days before the anniversary to give people an opportunity to view the flags. The flags will be removed on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The American Legion Post 673 will perform TAPS each night at sunset.

Four short films will be shown at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Fountain Pavilion. The “9/11 Narrative,” is about last year’s Sun City 9/11 memorial, “” is about a Sun City resident who lost his brother in the attacks and the “Daily Flag Retreat” is about a man on the East coast who raises the flag and lowers it each day at the beach, Mulhall said. A fourth film, “The Boatlift” is a new story about the largest maritime evacuation that happened on 9/11. It is narrated by Tom Hanks. The four films will again be shown at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday at the Drendel Ballroom in Sun City.

Bells will toll at 7:46 a.m., 8:03 a.m., 8:37 a.m. and 9:03 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11 signifying the moment planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a field in Pennsylvania.

A ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. that evening featuring a Memory Walk Luminaria, which is new this year. There will be no speeches, just singing, Mulhall said. The Prairie Voices will perform. The public can purchase luminaries on Sept. 7, 9 and 11 at the Sun City Pavilion.