Operation Never Forget, which includes a flag created as a tribute to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, made a stop in Carbon County on the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, on its way to its final destination at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

The flag was accompanied by its creator, Thomas McBrien of Upper Black Eddy, who brought it to the Albrightsville Volunteer Fire Company in Kidder Township."I knew that morning that I needed to do something," said McBrien of why he created the flag.McBrien dedicated a large part of the last 13 years to an organization known as "United We Stand/United We Sew."The product of this dedication is a 22-foot-by-32-foot hand-stitched flag quilt, dedicated to the victims of the attacks that took place on American soil in 2001."Each one of the small flags represents a victim of 9/11," McBrien said. "There are 2,983 individual American flags. There are an additional 86 flags representing the nations from around the world who also lost citizens that day."McBrien said much of the sewing was done by church groups, and the names of the victims were inscribed by Boy Scouts. The flags of the nations and panels representing law enforcement and first responders were made by school children.The four large American flags in the upper left hand corner are significant."One of the flags flew over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.; one flew at the state Capitol in New York; and one flew at the state Capitol in Pennsylvania. The last flew over the courthouse in my home county, Bucks County," he said. "All of the flags were flown on Dec. 21, 2001, in remembrance of those people who would not be home for Christmas that year."McBrien has traveled all over the country and around the world with the flag."We usually visit military bases to welcome home troops who are returning from the fight against terrorism," McBrien said. "The flag and I have even been to the Al-Faw Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, where we met with Gen. David Petraeus."The flag, which was first unveiled in New York City on the six-month anniversary of the attack, is on its way back to New York. McBrien plans on presenting it to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Manhattan."I am hoping that the flag becomes a part of the permanent collection," says McBrien. "I believe that out of bad can come some good, and this is the good. Anything that helps with the healing and the remembrance, that's good."