DUSHORE, Pa. — Every year on 9/11, 85-year-old Michael Skurecki stands on the corner of German and Main Street in Dushore, holding the Flag of Honor.
The flag lists the names of the thousands of people who died on September 11th, 2001. Skurecki and his wife Chrissy have been carrying on the tradition for ten years.
“We had gone to Somerset County on the Shanksville field, and we touched the memorial there, and Chrissy and I haven't gone to the Pentagon where there are benches, and we are gonna touch all of the benches with the flag, and our goal is to unite all of the names at all three sites,” said Michael Skurecki, Dushore.
Skurecki and his wife stand on the corner from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. every September 11th.
The flag he holds every year not only features the names of his 15 fellow Villanova graduates who died in the attacks but also the name Julian Cooper.
Skurecki and Cooper worked together at Northrop Gurman Corporation. Cooper asked to be transferred to the Pentagon to be closer to his family just four months before he was killed when a plane crashed into the building.
“It's just one of those things that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but his name's here with all the rest of the victims,” said Skurecki.
Skurecki says he was in shock when he discovered Cooper, his friend and co-worker, was gone.
“We shared the sports—different things, and some subjects in life, and we would never talk politics, but it was nice to have him around, and he is dearly missed."
Skurecki hopes his efforts will make a difference and help ensure people never forget. He plans to hold the flag each year on 9/11 for as long as he can.