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Just a few days after the September 11 attacks in 2001, six hikers decided to hike up Mount Liberty. The hikers carried 100 feet of rope and 30 feet of PVC tubing, and raised an American flag in honor of the victims. These hikers started the tradition called Flags on the 48.
Flags of the 48th is an event in which institutions (such as the Boy Scouts of America) volunteer to raise an American Flag from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on one of the 48 peaks of the White Mountains. This year, Troop 44 Walpole and Troop 13 Pepperell hiked 3.8 miles up and raised the flag on the summit of Mount Liberty. There, the two troops held a service that brought their different communities together. The service was organized and run by adult leader Timothy Webster, Troop 44’s adult Chaplain’s Aide. The service was held in order to remember those who lost their lives in the violent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as those who fought bravely on Flight 93.
The service was also educational; many of the scouts were very young at the time the 9/11 attacks or had not yet been born. Many of the scouts and other adults found solace in the service, and walked forward with a new understanding of community - both between the two troops and all of us as Americans.
