'Patriot Flag' Flies Over San Diego Before Heading To NYC For 9/11 Memorial

It started more than a year and a half ago as an ambitious idea. It was a commemorative gesture that was born out of wanting to honor the victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And it's something that Spring Valley resident Mitch Mendel didn't think would come to fruition.

Wishing to honor the fallen, Mendel, a longtime firefighter and EMT in San Diego, started "The Patriot Flag" project. It's goal: to fly a 30-foot-by-56-foot American flag in all 50 states in 50 weeks, leading up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The project is one aspect of the World Memorial, a non-profit organization dedicating to preserving the memory of the victims and their families. Mendel is the group's president.

Having finished up the 50 state tour the flag will travel Thursday to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, New York City, Arlington, VA to fly for the 10th anniversary memorial.

It was at a funeral for a World War II veteran in February 2010 that the idea first began. Mendel met Wayne Louth, sergeant of arms for the American Legion Post 149. Louth gave Mendel several flags to help him set up a memorial for the veteran and other fallen servicemen, including one of Mendel's firefighter comrades who was struck and killed by a car on the freeway.

"I sent Wayne an email about that memorial and he responded with, 'I've got another flag for you, and it's a big one,'" said Mendel. What came to be known as "The Patriot Flag" was donated to World Memorial by the Escondido Auto Park Association in August 2010, and began its cross-country trek on Sept. 12, 2010.

Since then, it has logged some impressive numbers: approximately 200 cities visited, more than 225 flights or displays, and more than 120,000 miles traveled. It has flown in sub-zero temperatures at the North Pole in Alaska, at the face of Mount Rushmore, in triple-digit heat in Arizona, and at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. On Tuesday, it was flying high above East County, in Rancho San Diego.

"To be honest, Mitch and I just thought it was a silly idea at the beginning," said Louth, a Vietnam veteran. "We never expected to get this far to where we’re going."

Where they're going is to the epicenters of all of the tragedy, where they will fly the soar in a lasting, final tribute.

Louth fought back tears at the thought of what an emotional experience it will be.

"This has been an emotional up-and-down roller coaster throughout this project," said Louth. " Raising the flag, it doesn’t matter what flag it is, it’s an emotional thing for me. The national anthem, I tear up every time I hear it. What’s gonna happen in New York, Shanksville, and the Pentagon, I’m gonna cry the same way I’m doing right now."

The logistics of transporting a 75-pound American flag across the country were bound to be tricky. And initially, Mendel didn't think that the '50 in 50' idea was going to work.

"It wasn’t until FedEx got onboard that the dream became a reality," said Mendel. "When it became apparent that if FedEx was gonna ship the flag for free, we could send it to each state and just find a responsible person in each state to accept the responsibility and then pack it up and send it to the next city."

U-Haul also donated trucks to help transport the flag from state to state.

"This is like our baby. When we sent it on its journey on Sept. 12 (2010) at midnight after having a memorial set up in Santa Monica, and it was kind of difficult to see it leave," Mendel admitted. "We knew it was going to be on its own and we had to trust that it was going to be treated with respect and dignity and honor."

Both Mendel and Louth would travel periodically to meet up with the flag, make alterations and get new hardware if necessary. But for the most part, they kept up with the flag's progress through photos, emails, and videos.

Emotions are no doubt going to be high on Sunday, and Louth is honored to be a part of the project.

"When this thing started to get the wind, no pun intended, I asked myself on a daily basis,  ‘who the hell am I to be part of this?,’ said Louth. "I don't really know what the answer to that is, but this flag, because of what it has done, and the meaning it has in honoring those that have fallen, we’re speaking for them. We’re keeping their memories alive with the message that we stand united. It's a huge honor to be a part of it."

Mendel agrees.

"It’s bittersweet to see it end… part of me is glad it’s ending because it’s been an exhausting process… but it’s truly an honor to see the dream come alive," he said.

Additionally, on Sept. 14, the men will take the flag to Fort McHenry, to fly it at the exact site and day that Francis Scott Key penned the poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1814.

After that flight, Louth said the flag will be locked away, and only flown on very special occasions.