100 Years of Scouting & George Washington Bridge Flag Retirement Ceremony

Troop 515, Howell, NJ participates in the celebration and is proud to host the George Washington Bridge Flag Retirement Ceremony.

The George Washington Bridge, one of the great engineering marvels of the last Century, is also home to the Worlds Largest Free Flying American Flag. Hanging from the upper arch of the 570 New Jersey tower, this 90-foot by 60-foot flag responded to the breezes of the Hudson River or the Palisades with the bottom of the flag looming about 120 feet above the upper level roadway deck.

The flag that you see before you weighed approximately 450-pounds. It was suspended from the tower by steel cables, which are raised and lowered by electric winches. Each stripe on the flag measured five feet across and the stars were four feet in diameter. Woven in the USA, it was made up of a 2 ply-spun polyester called Tough Tex, for more durability. The flag was normally flown for eight holidays during the year as well as special occasions, weather permitting.

In 2000 the flag was removed from the bridge to allow for a massive sanding and repainting project which would take over five years to complete. The project was timed for completion just prior to the bridges 75th anniversary celebration in 2006.

When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, the employees from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey looked for meaningful ways to show their solidarity, their patriotism and their grief for the loss of many of their fellow workers. The staff at the George Washington Bridge discovered an older flag in a storage room on the New Jersey
side of the bridge and set about the task of repairing it. More than a dozen employees worked around the clock on their hands and knees on the floor of a bridge maintenance garage, carefully replacing tattered stars, painting faded stripes and installing new grommets to hold the flag.
On September 24th, 2001, the mammoth flag was unfurled a few hundred yards from the site of the World Trade Center where it hung for one week in tribute to those who lost their lives. The project gave hope and support for the many men and women working at the site and allowed the bridge staff to express their feelings and emotions during this difficult time. Pieces of this flag that we retired here were used to complete that special flag in 2001.

A new American Flag was unfurled on the fifth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, the first time since 9/11 that a flag was displayed on the bridge. Whether it is flown for holidays, special occasions or in tribute, the flag is a beautiful sight to behold as it billows in the breeze high above the traffic. It is symbolic of so many things, but above all, it celebrates the enduring
spirit and patriotic feeling that we all share.

And so it is fitting that on the seventeenth day of April 2010, we respectfully retired this flag that has served to inspire us and unite us during its service.

Category:

Travel & Events

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• Howell NJ
• 100 Years of Scouting
• Troop 515
• Monmouth Council
• BSA
• Howell Elks Lodge 2515
• Howell Elks 2515
• Port Authority
• topdog5757
• George Washington Bridge Flag
• gwb
• Ramtown Fire Company
• East Freehold Fire Company
• Manalapan Teen CERT
• Monmouth County Park
• East Freehold
• american flag
• flag retirement ceremony
• world's largest free flying

[TopDog5757]

The vintage uniforms worn by the Howell Color Guard were great!