Below you will find a copy of a news story that appeared in The Times Leader on Tuesday, July 24. It is reprinted with the permisson of the newspaper

9/11 National Remembrance Flag to fly at Windsor Park Dallas

REBECCA BRIA
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Joanne and Stephen Galvin, residents of Wolcott, N.Y., were deeply saddened by the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and, like many Americans, felt compelled to contribute to the countless people affected by the tragic day.

Together, they designed the 9/11 National Remembrance Flag to memorialize the lives lost that day.

Though Stephen died in 2005, Joanne is keeping a promise to her husband to continue with the project.

This week, she shares that symbolic banner with the Wyoming Valley.

Joanne Galvin will present a 9/11 National Remembrance Flag during her visit at 6 p.m. Friday when she is the guest of honor at the annual Irish Teachers Festival at Windsor Park, Dallas.

“The fact that she would think enough about what we’ve done here to want this flag to fly here in Wyoming Valley, that in itself is very significant,” said Tony Mussari, who founded and oversees Windsor Park with his wife Kitch Loftus-Mussari.

Four adjoining stars on the flag represent each of the four airplanes that crashed on Sept. 11.

There are two white stars, one blue, and one red star. The blue flag signifies the color of the state flags where the downed planes landed: New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The black in the center of the flag symbolizes the sorrow felt on the day.

Galvin has presented the flag at all four sites where the planes crashed and to memorials set up across the United States.

The Memorial Water Garden was dedicated at Windsor Park during last year’s Irish Teachers Festival.

Forty “Angels of Freedom” were placed near the waterfall by family members of the 40 people who perished on Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pa. The slate angel statues are exact replicas of the ones at the Shanksville crash site; each one bears the name of a victim.

“Every year we try to do something at this festival to help people remember Flight 93 and the heroes of that day,” Tony Mussari said.

The Mussaris established Windsor Park on the site of a former community dump. The park was privately financed and completed 11 years ago.