A 9/11 Flag Flies From Afghanistan To Newtown

On September 11, Army Captain Micaela Hurley McMurrough climbed up on the roof of her headquarters building and looked out over the barren landscape of Afghanistan and the low utilitarian military buildings at the Bagram air base where she is stationed as an intelligence officer. She and her fellow officers had taken to the roof to fly a succession of American flags at that famous address in the war on terror on that infamous date. She sent one of those flags to The Newtown Bee in honor of the local service men and women serving in the global war on terror.

September 11 has become a national day of reflection for Americans everywhere as they remember the devastating terrorist attacks on that day in 2001. The world was transformed, especially for the men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces who are now deployed overseas in the war on terrorism.

Capt McMurrough grew up in Newtown and is the daughter of Lorraine and Michael Hurley of South Main Street. She is the only female on the command staff in her brigade of 1,200, 10th Mountain Division, at Bagram. She reports directly to Colonel Anthony Crutchfield, commander of Task Force Falcon in Afghanistan.

Micaela Hurley McMurrough comes from a military family. Her father served in the Marines, and her sister Cara was an Army lieutenant who served as a nurse at Fort Hood, Texas, and in Riley, Kan. Cara’s husband, Benjamin Wallin, is a captain in the US Army studying environmental engineering at the University of Texas-Austin following an assignment as company commander (A Company) of the 70th Engineers, 1st Armored Division in Iraq. After completing his master’s, he will serve as a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The flag sent to The Bee arrived with the following proclamation signed by Capt McMurrough’s commanding officer, Col. Crutchfield and Command Sergeant Major Jeffrey Sturtevant:

“This American Flag is dedicated to The Newtown Bee in honor of the Newtown residents who have served in the Global War on Terror. This flag was flown on the second anniversary of 9/11 over the Task Force Falcon, 10th Aviation Brigade, Tactical Operations Center at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of the Global War on Terrorism. It represents the hardship, sacrificed, and patriotism of the American soldier deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom IV.”

The flag was raised on the flagpole in front of The Bee’s offices at 5 Church Hill Road on Veterans’ Day this week.