[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 144 (Monday, September 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING THE FREEPORT FLAG LADIES

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to three truly 
remarkable Mainers--Elaine Greene, Carmen Footer and JoAnn Miller, 
affectionately known as, The Freeport Flag Ladies. It has been said 
that great things come in threes. That adage applies many, many times 
over for my friends and phenomenal Mainers, all retired and residing 
together in Elaine's home on School Street in Freeport. I am in awe of 
them and their story which is one of unabashed patriotism, limitless 
inspiration, and a love of country that makes us all inexpressibly 
proud.
  Every Tuesday morning from 8 to 9 a.m., regardless of weather and 
irrespective of season, these renowned Flag Ladies have stood not far 
from another icon in Maine, L.L. Bean, with the presence and exuberance 
of not one, but three Statues of Liberty having come to life for the 
single purpose of paying rightful homage to those who have sacrificed 
for all of us--our brave service men and women and our first 
responders.
  And incredibly, they have never, ever missed a Tuesday--not once. 
They have given up vacations and used the money they saved for this and 
other endeavors, including sending care packages to those fighting in 
Iraq and Afghanistan. They travel to Bangor International Airport two 
to three times a week to join the Maine Troop Greeters, or to Pease 
International in New Hampshire, they attend numerous troop send-off or 
welcome-home ceremonies, and Elaine estimates she has taken 1 million 
photos of the troops when they greet them at various locations.
  These women project the inescapable belief that our strength and 
resolve as a State and a nation have always emanated not from Augusta, 
not from Washington, but from the people themselves--from tireless 
patriots of their own volition performing the most extraordinary of 
deeds. I well recall when we stood shoulder to shoulder as the steel 
beams from the Twin Towers--bequeathed by officials at Ground Zero to 
the town of Freeport--journeyed this past May from their hallowed home 
in New York to be enshrined in a 9/11 Memoria1. Elaine, Carmen, and 
JoAnn's leadership in bringing the steel to Maine was instrumental.
  How fitting it is that this massive steel beam that once undergirded 
the World Trade Center now undergird our spirits, our hearts, and our 
memories in Freeport. After all, there are only a finite number of 
steel pieces that remain from the Twin Towers, and the requests for 
them within America and around the world far exceed what is available. 
To have the proud distinction of displaying this beam--in which so much 
meaning is infused--defies description. But behind Maine's selection 
was the knowledge that we would be more than custodians of this 
patriotic emblem--that we would in fact be its steward. What better 
stewards than the Freeport Flag Ladies.
  The words are difficult to find to adequately convey the height of my 
admiration, not to mention the sense of privilege I have felt when 
joining them on Main Street to wave American flags. People honk as they 
drive by, they wave, they stop and thank them--it really is something. 
Let me just say, it was the highest of honors to join Elaine, Carmen, 
and JoAnn on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 
Freeport.
  Ever since I learned of their exceptional response to the horrific 
events of 9/11, Tuesdays have never been the same for me, for my staff, 
and for the countless individuals who have encountered them in Freeport 
or heard about them in the news. Indeed, after the heinous acts that 
occurred that Tuesday morning on September 11, 2001, when President 
Bush asked us all, as Americans, to walk outside and light a candle in 
remembrance of those individuals taken tragically from us too soon, 
Elaine, Carmen, and JoAnn did just that. But they also kindled a deeper 
flame in all of us by bringing American flags with them to wave on Main 
Street in Freeport. And for that we are so very grateful.
  It is fitting that these three women with backgrounds in health care 
have taken it upon themselves--one Tuesday at a time, one greeting at a 
time, one photo at a time, and one good word at a time--to help heal 
our Nation by harnessing the best of who we are and what we stand for, 
whether in the best of times or when facing adversity.
  When considering their stalwart dedication to our country and those 
who serve her, I cannot help but recall one of Maine's giants and 
America's military heroes, GEN Joshua Chamberlain, who once said, ``I 
long to be in the field again, doing my part to keep the old flag up, 
with all its stars.'' The Freeport Flag Ladies, by being civilian 
sentinels of freedom have indeed been doing their part for 10 years. 
Thank you Elaine, Carmen, and JoAnn.

                          ____________________