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Thousands of flags pierced the green grass of Tempe Beach Park on Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway as families, veterans and community members remembered the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001.
Around 200 volunteers began the 90-minute process to set up the massive display Sunday. Just under 3,000 flags on 8-foot poles spanned from end to end of the park right in front of the Salt River.
Susan Whitaker, a volunteer who helped with the installation of the event, was a Army Reserve soldier at the time and she worried about her future after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I was glued to the TV and the radio," Whitaker said. "Everything stood still for a while."
Whitaker said the Tempe memorial gained popularity when the foundation created a Facebook page, and their intent is to keep the event relatively small.
Two of the many who walked through the patches of red, white and blue, were Stephanie Orona and her daughter Shaylin Orona. They live in Scottsdale and the two decided to visit after Stephanie Orona picked up her daughter from school.
"I just wanted to show her (the memorial)," Stephanie Orona said. "I think its her first time hearing about that day."
Stephanie Orona said that she was in college when the World Trade Center was attacked and she was with a few friends.
"I remember my mom calling me and saying we're going to war." Orona said. "It was devastating."
Many people were on top of the bridge that overlooked Tempe Beach Park and a good portion of the flags. A group of soldiers huddled around their smartphones and took pictures to pay their respects.
Shail Ganatra also tread through the rows of flags. He is an immigrant from east Africa and moved to Arizona in 1980.
Ganatra said he wasn't familiar with what the World Trade Center was until the attack actually happened.
"It was the heartbeat of the world," Ganatra said. "United we stand and divided we fall."
Also among the spectators was Los Angeles native Ruben Cordero, who rode his skateboard and walked his dog around the area.
Cordero said he could only recall one moment from that day when he watched it on TV in his classroom on his very first day of school in the eighth grade.
"After the second plane hit, the teacher turned it off," Cordero said. "It gives me the chills just thinking about it right now."
Reach the reporter at jwilli62@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @JonWilliams_23
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