Remembering 9/11: Funeral chapel honors those who perished in attacks
Published 3:19 pm Tuesday, September 8, 2015
They stand at attention, 2,996 miniature flags planted in the grass to remind us.
The staff at Burley Funeral Chapel wanted to honor those who were killed by terrorists Sept. 11, so they created a tribute on their front lawn near the corner of Whidbey Avenue and State Highway 20 in Oak Harbor.
“It’s important for people to remember that terrorism affects all of us,” said Douglas Colwell, manager at Burley.
“We need to be mindful of it.”
Colwell started the tribute last year after moving here from Las Vegas. His stepmother worked in the World Trade Center, although she wasn’t at work the day of the terrorists attacks.
Cathleen George, office manager at Burley, lost her cousin in the attack.
The funeral chapel asked people from the community to help put the flags in place. Volunteers from the fire and police department, the base and elsewhere showed up last week to help.
“It becomes more somber when you see all those flags,” he said. “Each flag was someone who passed.”
On this Sept. 11, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station plans a bell-ringing ceremony in conjunction with morning colors at 8 a.m. at the command headquarters building.
