Surge in Patriotism Puts Special U.S. Flags in High Demand
WASHINGTON – In the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist, Americans emptied their local stores of the U.S. flag, and the U.S. Capitol sold out right along with them.
House members and senators routinely ship American flags that have flown over the Capitol building to constituents who call their offices and ask to buy the flags. After the attacks, so many calls came in from all over the country that the House and Senate Stationery Stores sold out of flags and now have 28,000 back orders on a month-long waiting list, said Jim Forbes, director of communication for the House Administration Office.
The offices of New Hampshire’s delegation said they usually receive a handful of requests per week from state residents to buy flags. Since Sept. 11, there have been about four times as many requests as usual, and many New Hampshire residents are on the waiting list.
The office of Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) has already put most of its requests on back order because the Stationery Stores that fill the flag requests have been sold out for two weeks.
“Since the attack I know we have shipped more than 50 to our district offices,” said Sally Tibbetts, Bass’s press secretary. “Now we have an excess of 70 requests pending.”
Anyone can purchase an American flag that has flown over the. Capitol senators by calling the offices of their House members or senators. Flags are available in nylon or cotton, with or without gold fringe, and come in three sizes, 3 by 5 feet, 4 by 6 feet. and 5 by 8 feet .The prices vary by each office, and the costs for flags from New Hampshire’s delegation range from $7.50 to $27.35. An additional charge of $3 to $4 is tacked on to have it flown over the Capitol and another $3 to $4 to is added for postage and handling.
The office of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has received four to six requests for a flag per day, said Jeff Turcotte, Gregg’s press secretary. Before Sept. 11, he said, the office received only three to five such calls per week.
The office of Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) has seen its requests double and triple in the past three weeks, said Eryn Witcher, Smith’s press secretary. After the attacks, Witcher said, the office sent 40 to 50 flags to New Hampshire within a few days, when it would typically send only about 6 flags to the state every few days.
Barbara Riley, press secretary to Rep. John Sununu (R-NH), said Sununu’s office usually only has a few requests this time of year, but since Sept. 11, 18 requests have come in.
Flag back orders can’t be filled until the Capitol receives a new shipment of 100,000 flags, scheduled for mid-October, Forbes said.
When a flag request comes into a congressional office, the office forwards it to the Capitol flag office, whose employees run each flag up and down a pole on the Capitol’s roof before sending it back to the member’s office. There, it’s mailed to the constituent along with a certificate of authenticity saying when it was flown. Tibbetts said that last week, Bass put a flag that had flown over the Capitol on eBay, the online auction site, for its Auction for America, which sent all of its proceeds to the victims and survivors and of the attacks. The flag, typically sold for $14, went for $540 online, she said.
Flags can also be ordered from members’ World Wide Websites. Constituents can specify whom the flag is to honor.
