Dear Flag Across America Team,

If you receive this letter, you were an integral part of the AAmericans United Flag Across America. It is my personal goal to thank everyone who helped us in this time-compressed, adrenaline-fueled effort to encourage our country and honor the fallen heroes who faced the hijackers on September 11, 2001. This is likely an impossible task, as more people than I have names for helped in so many ways-but I am determined to try, as no good deed should go unrecognized.

The first people I have to thank are my wife Jill, son Kyle, and daughter Jennifer. They not only pitched in mightily for the Flag Run cause, but also "did all my stuff" for 30 days so I could do the run stuff. Not a small task, I can assure you. They have sacrificed as much as any for this event, but they would not have missed it for the world.

I next have to thank Mike Burr himself. Mike had an idea that, under normal circumstances, would have been great to talk about at the pub in London for a few hours and then everyone would've forgotten about it the next day. What fueled this idea to actual accomplishment was, obviously, this common "need" that all Americans now seem to have to "do something". In this case, Mike's idea became the perfect thing for a bunch of "mission oriented" pilots to set their sights on and "just do it". Without Mike's vision, we all would've sat at home and stewed in our own juices.

Other thanks belong to Frank LaCorte and Mark Hunnibell-two very intelligent guys who NEVER take no for an answer. In some cases, this might cause a problem. In the Flag Run, it was vital to the success of the endeavor. Many people are completely unaware of the extreme sacrifices these men made in many areas for this event even to get off the ground-for example, Frank didn't change clothes or shower for two days from October 8 through late on October 10th-due to the need to set up route coordination for the first two states. Mark's web site was crucial to the viability of the project-if he didn't do it as soon as or as well as he did, we would've run out of people somewhere south of Boston. Many times through the run, both Mark and Frank "saved the day"-yet not many people knew about it. Now you all know.

The rest of the National Team-Gary Rivenson, Gene Atwell, Bill Lokes, Dennis and Mary Dellagreca, Glenn and Debi Schrader and Tom D'Agostino-they all helped in so many ways along the road, each doing their part. Seaborne and Malley, we'll include you here. Your quick legal work set initial pace, we had to keep it up for 30 days.

Many people "rallied to the 'cause". While we (maybe) "could have" done the run without any of their help, it would not have been done "the right way". One of these people was Mr. Bert James of the Hilton-Boston Logan Airport. Bert had just resided over the Flight 11/175 Critical Incident Response, which was based at the Hilton-a time when his heart and that of his staff was fully on display and greatly appreciated. When I called him with our request to base the kickoff for the Flag Run at the Hilton, Bert's only questions were "what do you need and when do you need it?" From a conference room with fax, phone and computer to a stage and sound system in the parking lot (with many thanks to Jim Anello of the Hilton and his set-up staff) to rooms for the National Team and coffee in the morning-the Hilton came through in magnificent fashion. While the potential publicity that the event MAY have brought to the Hilton was a plausible 'business-reason' to host the kickoff, Bert's genuine desire to help our patriotic tribute to the people who died on the four September 11 flights was very evident regardless of what it meant to the Hilton as a business. Bert's generosity, his unflinching support for the airline employees and the hotel staff's first-rate support at the Hilton was a cornerstone that set the tone for the rest of the 30 days of the run. His further support in putting us in contact with David Villarrubia of the Hilton-LAX for the finish was equally as important. We cannot ever repay the Hilton for all that they have done-but if I ever have business that brings me to Boston or an event to stage, I will go at once to the Hilton-Boston Logan. I hope all of the Flag-runners do the same.

In Boston, we have many others to thank: Sara Dela Cruz, United Flight Attendant and union officer in the Association of Flight Attendants was a crucial link early on as a presence in Boston-even as she dealt with the deaths of her friends on Flight 175 and the furloughs of over 60% of the UAL Boston F/A base. In fact, as we tried to notify the family members of the airline employees killed that they were invited to run the 'last mile,' we again called on Sara for help (as well as Sue Cooke and Jeannie Brunkhurst). Sara, we owe you and your family much thanks. In addition, Lisa Centamore (UAL F/A), Mark Percy (AA pilot), Jessie Brightman (AA pilot), Bob Garrett (AA pilot), and MA State Coordinator Sally Bush (AA F/A) were instrumental in helping our route set-up and media relations in Boston. At The Rack, where we had our kickoff party, we enjoyed the extremely generous sponsorship of Paul and Heidi Barkley and had the outstanding help of PR guru Ronnie Boyles of Regan Communications who was crucial to our initial media exposure. (We really owe Ronnie a debt of gratitude as she not only realized the enormity of our effort well before we did, but she also had to deal with the fact that we were nearly an hour late to her well-planned media event due to the fact that we were already behind the power curve and trying to accomplish multiple tasks at once-she taught me a lot about dealing with the media in a professional manner by her example.) Helping in all of this was Heather Michalowski of The Rack, who was an important contact and all-around supporter. The Rack is forever linked to the Flag Run and we are proud of their support.

Also instrumental for the press and the opening ceremony were the offices of Governor Jane Swift and Mayor Thomas Menino. In particular, Shawn Feddeman of Governor Swift's office and Elizabeth Sullivan of the Mayor's office were very helpful. The Massachusetts State Police were also extremely helpful-special thanks to Sgt. Dan Clark for his singing talents at the opening ceremony, the bagpipe trio and the Marine Color Guard who added such presence to our first steps.

The step-by-step efforts that each person involved took would be too much to document in this letter. So, thanks to the following State Coordinators (and a few other especially hard workers)-I cannot begin to tell you how hard these folks worked. Each spent days or weeks preparing, spent a significant amount of money and nearly all of their families sacrificed for this cause. Sleepless nights, a million "fires" to put out-but each will tell you they've never felt so good to be part of such an event. We were so lucky-no, we were truly blessed-to have such a group support this run, it could not have succeeded any other way. (There were many others in each state, I'll let them thank their own 'lieutenants'):

Massachusetts: Sally Bush, Lisa Centamore and Kate Vernon. Rhode Island: Jim Haldman. Connecticut: Lisa Ruggiero, Audrey Visco, Kathryn Malley, Brian McManus and his family, and Frank LaCorte. New York: Gary Rivenson, Donna Saville, Dan Carey, Deter Beisiegel and Kevin Boylan. Special thanks to Fireman Michael Dale for his real-time efforts in the city as well as Lt. Jeffery Ferrara of the NYPD for his excellent handling of a difficult traffic situation. Special thanks as well to Kip Bramer, Glenn Schrader, Walter Klauber, Sharon Domaleski (AA pilot), Officer Jeff Madden and Officer Terry Hawley from Tomaston, CT. New Jersey: Paul Evanovich, Steve O'Neil and Tony Devito. Pennsylvania: Gary Rivenson, Donna Saville, Mark Vanek. Maryland: Brian Beach (short-notice and tough weather!), Mary Fagerberg and Libbie Young. Washington, D.C.: Tom D'Agostino. Virginia: Gary Boettcher , Tom D'Agostino. North Carolina: Alan Pollenz, Neil Kennedy. South Carolina: Rich Guilford. Georgia: Jamie Weller, Shane Smallwood (migraines and all!), Sandy Underwood, Chester Gunter. Alabama: Pat Ryan, Allison Miller, Curt Jarvis. Mississippi: Mike Cummings, Virginia Welch, Allison Miller. Louisiana: Robin Jones, Carol Lorence, Nancy Mathews. Texas: Laura Joyce-Hubbard, Bob Bomar, Mike Watson, Neil Raaz, Dan Williams, Jim Dees, Teri Schwartz, Phil Conroy, Dave Buffington, Cindy Shaw, Zane Lemon, Paul Martinez. Oklahoma: Susan Weaver, Dave Kennedy, Fritz Amelang, Tim Johnson. New Mexico: Dee Friesen, Janice "Dusty" Mirly Steedman, Laurie Cummings. Arizona: Ken White, Steve Case, Heather Buxton, Angela Langer, Kathy Connolly, Theresa Viele. California: Glenn and Debi Schrader, Sven Davidson, Darrell Ashlock, Jill Lindsay, Scott Fell, Brian Reichel. Florida: Marty Menendez. Colorado: Gary Rossbach, Carl Braun, John Barton. Illinois: Katrina Fraley.

Mike Stark also worked special events, particularly the Golden Knights involvement. Linda Pauwels (AA pilot) gets thanks for last-minute help in LA, as does LAX APA Chairman Denis Breslin. Paul Joyce brought his own flag all the way from New Hampshire to run the 'last leg". Very special thanks to the pilots and Flight Attendants who stepped in to escort our visiting families, including: Dave & Karen Hassig, Billy Ferran, Tom Rice, Chris Hoag, Greg Downs, Mike Marks, Mark McIntyr, Steve Jacques, Paul Nelson, David Dosch, Joe Macksimczyk, Art Overman, Charlie Greer, Bob Baker, Doug Wilmoth and Luciana-an AA F/A recruited "on the spot" from a plane and jumped in with a Herculean effort to take care of our visiting families in Los Angeles.

A very special thanks to the following people for their help in making our event something to remember:

MA Governor Jane Swift, who presented the flag at the opening ceremony in Boston; CT Governor John Rowland, who wrote a letter to all other governors along our route asking for support for our cause. This helped ease our way invaluably; Dan Mitrovich, President, New York City Marathon Tribute Committee, his wife Linda and assistant Danny Swain. Dan REALLY did a lot of work in California to make the finish-line ceremony a very special event for the families of the airline employees lost on September 11-I think we'll make him an honorary California State Coordinator; Champion runner Bill Rodgers for his support and presence in Los Angeles; Bobby Barret and the Viejas Band of Indians who have made such an impression with their dedication of the Fred Lebow statue endowment to the deceased crews of Sept. 11; Louise Hart provided a lot of great "what ifs"-I just wish I could've done more of the things she suggested; Comedian Rob Bartlett who included our team on his live internet broadcast; SSgt. Mike Pecha of the Marine Corps (Raleigh, NC) and MSgt. Charlie Brown & Sergeant Harley Mast and the Golden Knights Army Parachute Demonstration Team; Raleigh, NC Mayor Paul Coble (& Jane Kirkpatrick and Chris Riley) for his support of the flag as it passed through Raleigh; SC Governor Jim Hodges for his support of the flag as it passed through Columbia; Augusta, GA Mayor Bob Young and his Parks and Recs Department (Tom Beck) for his very involved role in Augusta; Meridian, MS Mayor John Robert Smith; Mayor Ron Kirk of Dallas, TX., for his proclamation of "Flag Across America Day" as the flag passed through Dallas;

Thanks to United Airlines' Celene Puerye (Civil Affairs), Mary Ann O'Reagan and Lori Capra for their frantic and intense work to let the UAL families know about the 'last leg'. Difficult times, as it was very much thrust in their laps, but an admirable and genuine effort to take care of each family…

Thanks to former American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall, current CEO Donald Carty and Sr. VP of Operations Gerard Arpey for their participation as runners in the event. Bruce Hardy of Texas Stadium; Vicki Huxel of American Airlines Center; Lucille Crouch, Executive Director of Texas Stampede; thanks also to AMR Board of Director and University of Oklahoma President David Boren and US Representative J.C. Watts for their participation in Norman, OK. How about Channel 9 covering the flag from the helicopter from the minute it came into the state until the minute it left?

We received a guided tour of the Oklahoma City memorial from Survivor's Association President Dr. Paul Heath. He carefully instructed us on the intricate details of the construction of the memorial, and we learned a lot about how an American society recovers from a terrorist attack by listening to his account of the last six years in Oklahoma City. We also received a hand-sewn quilt from a group of students from Oklahoma State University. Mayor Trent Sisemore of Amarillo, ran with the flag and helped make Amarillo special. Thanks to Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller of Arkansas for his advice and counsel; US Rep. Heather Wilson (NM) for perhaps the finest 'flagrun' speech, made in Albuquerque; Senator Dick Durbin for his letter of support for our cause, and also to F/O Robert Held (Esq.) for his assistance in several vital areas; Captain Robert Spielman, United Airlines, for his hours of coordination for the special United families traveling to Los Angeles; Gina Leisveld, UAL F/A, Boston Onboard Services; Captain Robert Shore and Captain Jack Gleason, American Airlines; Captain Robert Kudwa, American Airlines VP of Flight, and LAX Chief Pilot (UAL) Captain Gary Meermans and Asst. Chief Captain Joe Noval for their presence and support at the Los Angeles ceremony. VP Gerard Arpey, American Airlines, and Mr. Kurt Stache, Director of International Revenue (and assistance from Jaye), American Airlines, for their outstanding assistance in providing travel arrangements for our honored guest families in Los Angeles. Shawn Mills and Beth Enright of AA Flight Service-BOS were invaluable in their assistance with tracking down a lot of loose ends, as was Robin Humpherys of Flight Admin. I would also like to thank the Allied Pilots Association for their strong support throughout the run, as well as President John Darrah, Vice President Bob Ames, the entire APA Board of Directors and the Communications department-Carolyn Hodge in particular-for their attendance, advice and help. Joanna Matley of APFA also tried her hardest to help-it was greatly appreciated, especially the web site link.

In California, we were supported by several sponsors-Consolidated Reprographics did an amazing job reproducing the photographs of the lost airline employees for the stage memorial; Nelson Sound provided equipment for the ceremony (Jack Haffemayer was great-by the way the t-shirts DID get the Nelson name on the back J); Ron Brown and Jim Reese of Champion Expositions for the stage set-up, and Charlie Hsieh of the Hilton and Jeff Kiernan of the Governors office provided equipment support as well. Vital to the set-up were AA pilots Ron Mulhearn and Wayne Stanfield, who did an "iron-man" job to get the stage set up in time-and had the vital but 'unglamorous' work of helping Champion Expositions point-man Gary Thompson and his team break down the stage after the event-guys, we owe all of you big slaps on the back-it simply would have been a mess without you. Champion is not just as name, as it turns out… (Leigh Ann Burr-Mike's sister-- gets thanks here as she gave us leads down many roads, including the Marriott participation.) AA F/A and California State Coordinator Jill Lindsay did a wonderful job with the photographs of the lost airline employees and the coordination of the families on the last mile. Patrice Malloy and Jill King also pitched in to make sure things went smoothly. Diane Burr, Kathryn Malley and Robin Jones headed up the gathering of the State Flags, and Glenn and Debi Schrader, once again, for the flag 'construction'-nice job pulling together one of the most important symbolic moments of the finish. I would have been absolutely lost on the 10th of November without the help of Laura Joyce-Hubbard and her husband Lloyd-wonderful people with huge hearts-and the able help of Capt. Gene Atwell in the last few days putting the LA business together. Also, Lynn Atkinson of the Permits Division, LifeGuard Capt. Greg Lee and Maintenance foreman Pete Fernandez were extremely helpful-especially Lynn. Nice job all.

We were welcomed to Los Angeles by a host of dignitaries, led by Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante. Lt. Gov. Bustamante presented a proclamation to the Flag Across America and was eager to attend the ceremony (thanks also to Tom D'Agostino and Deborah Pacyna of the Lt. Governor's office.) He was joined by Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks and his wife, Bobbi, and the public relations folks from the LAPD who helped us so much; representatives of the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the LAX Airport Police and military members from all branches throughout the area. Bagpiper Tucker Fleming gallantly volunteered with 36 hrs. notice to play the pipes in the closing ceremony-an addition that, in retrospect, really added a lot to the event. (I didn't get a chance to thank Tucker personally, and have lost his number…Tucker, call me at 919-555-5555 if you will…). Likewise, the Marine Color Guard that presided over the ceremony's beginning was perfect-thanks guys (and gal).

Thanks to Ms. Beth Gray, who came from Arkansas to sing for us, as well as Ms. Autumn Carlson-both also sang at the reception. Thanks also to AA F/As John McQuitas and Nancy Brown of APFA-LAX for their attendance and support. Thanks to Ron Correl for his ad hoc PR work to stir up a very lazy Los Angeles press. Thanks as well to General Manager David Mashagh of The Proud Bird Restaurant for the generous donation of the dessert servings at the reception; even more thanks to Clive Welsh (Noah McMahon as well) for the rest of the food at the reception-since I didn't set that one up, I didn't really "get it" until later that Clive had given so much-what an honor to be associated with such generous people.

I want to make special thanks to David Villarrubia, General Manager of the Hilton Hotel-LAX and his very kind staff-they proved to be very warm and compassionate hosts in a time that hit emotional highs and lows for our team and families. It truly would have been hard to imagine going through the last few days of set-up, the end ceremony and then the news of the 587 crash without the Hilton staff in support. Simply said-the best kind of people.

Similarly, General Manager Mr. Javier Cano, the excellent staff of the Marriott-LAX, and in particular Ms. Kim Hart, went out of their way, well past what we had arranged, to accommodate our traveling families in a sensitive time. Marriott worked very hard to allow donated food and were extremely flexible in their assistance as our plans molded around the needs of the attendees-they truly made our end reception special. Richard Green of Marriott Corporate worked with us to ensure that our staging hotels along the route provided the best possible support for the team as it moved through the states. The cooperative effort everyone put into this operation was typified by these two competitors-I have a great deal of respect for both organizations and now understand that the hotel industry is just as much of a "family" as we in the airlines consider ourselves to be.

Thanks also to Paul Zadoff and Nike Corporation for their initial help and support, as well as Reebok-another pair of competitors who helped in a cooperative, American spirit.

Finally, I would be remiss without acknowledging our "partners" in this effort-and the group that has the "real deal" all on tape-Bret Stern Productions and his team who spent the last thirty-two days filming us in what has got to have been one of the most unorthodox filming environments in at least his experience. We really didn't get a chance to know all of these people as well as we should have, since most of the time they were around you were trying to pretend that they weren't, and sometimes when they were around you wished that they weren't…and then at least once we told them NOT to be around. I have a greater understanding, and a lot of respect, for the profession those folks have chosen.

I know that I have forgotten someone-probably someone very important-as I do not have all of the names at my disposal of those who pitched in at various points and will admit that I am having trouble keeping some people straight. I'll rely on Mike and the rest to get the "clean-up" when they do their "thank-yous". For now, I'll beg forgiveness and understanding.

But the most important "person" we can thank is the one who was there, waiting, at the side of the road. There for their own reasons, but there for the same reasons as the rest of us-duty, honor, country. Love of family, love of life. Remembrance for lost friends or family, defiant towards terror or those who propagate terror; unwilling to let the bad times fade our spirit or our resolve. With willing hands and welling eyes, took the flag for a few steps or a few miles, and let us all know that "in the USA, we're OK." That is the person we can thank, and I personally saw tens of thousands of them on this journey. I will never forget the cooperation that I saw on this trek-that is what brings tears to MY eyes and the lump into my throat after 30 days of emotion. People have said to us: "it's amazing what you have done, what you are doing;" I nearly always said, even if not aloud "no, it is amazing what YOU are doing;" each person we met along the way who volunteered to drive the RV or the local policeman on the cold highway at 3 a.m., the Girl Scout troops holding bake-sales or the fabulous folks in Dallas who just now raised over $5,000 for the funds. You are the amazing and wonderful ones.

The genuine kindness and compassion, the teamwork and true, heart-on-the-sleeve patriotism demonstrated by my countrymen has forever let me know that this IS what we have always said it was-the greatest NATION on Earth. God Bless America.

Sincerely,

Todd Wissing

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