Tyler Holman and his friends gathered outside of Marletto’s in the rain, ready for the three hours it would take to plant the 9/11 memorial flags. Holman’s collection of almost 3,000 flags represent the number of lives lost on September 11, 2001.
His flags made Webster University news when they were seen outlining campus the morning of Osama Bin Laden’s death. Holman and small group of five friends kept the tradition alive despite the worry of being known as, “the flag kids.”
Webster Alumni’s Give Their Support
Holman’s group of volunteers consisted of four Webster University alumni along with one junior economics student, Wakeel Rahman. Most of the volunteers helped plant the flags the morning of Osama Bin Laden’s assassination and wanted to keep helping Holman with his 9/11 tradition.
The Webster University alumni, Mandy Hanson, Zach Treadway, Benjamin Yousef, and Kaitlin Jacobsmeyer, all contributed their time out of their Saturday to plant the flags in honor of 9/11.
From Rain ’til Shine
The early afternoon may have started out raining but the sun eventually came out for the group as they neared the end of their three hour long process.
Students passed by the flags on their way to lunch in Marletto’s and cars honked as the flag site grew throughout the day. Some Webster residents jogged by and stopped to take pictures of the memorial on their cell phones.
The process was long but Holman feels that the act of planting the flags is a way to show some sort of service to those who lost their lives in 9/11. Holman’s tradition throughout the years has been in honor of Webster University alumni in the military.
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