Before sunrise on Thursday, Arizona State University ROTC cadets, student-athletes and local volunteers fanned out across Tempe Beach Park to plant 2,977 American flags, one for every life lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The work began at 5:46 a.m., the exact moment the first hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center 25 years ago, and by daylight the park had become the Tempe Healing Field, a tradition now entering its third decade.
The predawn planting effort was organized as part of the 25th anniversary setup, according to ASU News. The Healing Field has appeared at Tempe Beach Park as an annual 9/11 tribute. Longtime organizer Mark Whitaker said the field helps families find healing and serves as a touchstone. “The healing field helps surviving family members heal,” Whitaker said, according to ABC15 Arizona.
A Field Designed to Tell Each Story
A Field Designed to Tell Each Story Every flag carries the name of a victim. Color-coded ribbons and small markers give the field its own visual language: yellow ribbons for first responders around the perimeter, combat boots for military service members, and teddy bears for the children who died that day.
Among the thousands of flags is one for Gary Eugene Bird, who was at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Bird remains the only Arizona resident killed in the attacks, according to KTAR News. Bird was 51, lived in Tempe and had a three-hour meeting at the Marsh offices that day. His widow and son are also discussed in the KTAR account.
Whitaker personally guides surviving family members to their loved one's flag when they visit, per the ABC15 report. Among this year's visitors was 87-year-old Marie Long, a former teacher who was working on 9/11. Standing among the flags, Long reflected on the scale of loss represented in the field. “We were unjustly attacked,” she said, adding, “God bless everyone who worked in those buildings.” She said the display fills her with pride in how Americans came together after the attacks, telling the outlet, “We need to honor this person.”
How the Field Has Changed Since 2004
The Exchange Club of Tempe organized the display as a tribute to those killed in the attacks, according to the Exchange Club of Tempe. The tribute now focuses on the 2,977 victims of September 11, the number represented at Tempe Beach Park each year. The overall Healing Field concept is licensed by the Utah-based Colonial Flag Foundation.
This year's remembrance unfolds across several days. A ceremony commemorating the moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center was held Friday at approximately 5:30 a.m., with a keynote address from a survivor of the Pentagon attack on 9/11 and each victim's name read aloud, per the ABC15 report. A candlelit vigil followed Friday evening at 7 p.m., and a Freedom Concert is set for Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The weekend closes Sunday at 7:30 a.m. with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation 5K Run/Walk at Tempe Beach Park, according to the City of Tempe.
A Valley-Wide Effort to Pass Down the Memory
Tempe's field is not the only 25th-anniversary tribute in the region this week. Phoenix marked the milestone with Voices Across Generations, an event pairing members of Arizona Task Force 1, which deployed 62 search-and-rescue personnel to Ground Zero in 2001, with local students born after the attacks, as Hoodline previously reported. The region also featured other 9/11 events.
Together, the events reflect a continuing effort across the Valley to pass down the memory of 9/11. Firsthand accounts from people like Long and Whitaker help carry forward the pledge to never forget.
