Perry Township Fire honors 9/11 victims with garrison flag over the Lloyd

VANDERBURGH COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) — Members of the Perry Township Fire Department and flew their 15×30 American flag Monday.

It is a tradition continuing over 20 years.

It hung 80 feet in the air over the Lloyd Expressway on University Parkway, where passersby remember the first responders who sacrificed their lives on September 11, 2001.

Some of the Perry Township firefighters have participated in flying their garrison flag before, like former Ohio Township Fire Chief Jerry Bulger.

“I’m a firefighter. Firefighters who lost their lives — not only the firefighters, but all the individuals who lost their lives during 9-11-2001 — we have to pay honor to those,” Bulger said. “To remember is to honor.”

Some members of Perry Township fire even took time from their work to show their support, including Medical Captain Carrie Weber.

She has been coming to the flag event every year since she moved to Evansville 12 years ago.

“It’s important that we remember and learn from what has happened and show future generations that we can unify and join together,” Weber said.

Some of the members of an up-and-coming generation attend class at USI just further down University Parkway.

Some students say 9/11 closely affected their parents.

“I mean we can still show remembrance, but it’s going to be hard because we didn’t experience it,” USI student Austin Wren said. “So like telling our kids about it, we’re going to tell our parents’ stories. It’ll be a different honoring, but I think we’ll still honor it.”

Those students we spoke to say just because they were not born, that does not mean they will not honor 9/11 and the victims.

“It’s like a core moment in American history and caused such a movement for all Americans, even though it was so negative, it really binded us together as Americans,” USI student Harrison Hulsman said. “Yet again, it was a terrible event and it’s hard to look back on.”