Display
of U.S. flags is part of Healing Fields across the nation. But
there's an LDS twist to the July 3-12 Idaho Falls event.
In
addition to the usual fireworks, Idaho Falls will see a different
kind of display this Fourth of July. In fact, the field displaying
1,776 U.S. flags will remain beyond the holiday -- through July
12 -- at West Broadway and Bellin Road.
It's
part of a nationwide project called Healing Field, which seeks
to promote patriotism and American values through displaying the
flag.
But
the Idaho Falls event, which opens with a 10 a.m. flag-raising
on Saturday, July 3, will have a Latter-day Saint twist. A gigantic
U.S. flag will be hoisted to the top of a 100-foot pole, and beside
it will fly a large Title of Liberty flag.
The
red and navy blue flags are emblazoned with the words "God,
Family, Faith, Peace, Freedom" surrounding the Liberty Bell.
Proceeds
from the sale of the flags on July 12, the final day of the display,
will go toward causes which support those five values. (To read
more about the Title of Liberty Cause or to purchase flags, see
www.thetitleofliberty.org.)
The
project also commissioned an original song by Barry Hansen, an
LDS songwriter and recording artist. "The Title of Liberty,"
an upbeat anthem espousing the values of the non-profit Title
of Liberty Cause, is included on his new CD, "My Soul Hungered."
It can also be heard on the project's Web site listed above and
at www.soundsofzion.com.
Healing
Fields have been going up across the nation for the past couple
of years, paying tribute to such diverse Americans as military
veterans and victims of child abuse. There was one in Gettysburg,
Penn., over the Memorial Day weekend, and another is on display
at Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., through July 4. The
3,000 flags at Sharpsburg are in memory of the victims of the
attack on the World Trade Center towers. A similar Healing Field
will go up in Salt Lake City's Sugarhouse Park on Sept. 11.
For
more information on Healing Field locations and tributes, see
the non-profit organization's Web site, www.healingfield.org.
