Events

Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
The setup may conclude earlier if all flags are placed before 11:00 AM.

Location: Memorial Park
6005 Underwood Ave.
Omaha, NE 68132
On the hill in front of the large World War II monument

About the Event

The Rotary Club of Omaha will once again set up the 9/11 Tribute of Flags Omaha at Memorial Park to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks and honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day.

Each year, Rotarians, Scouting America, and community volunteers come together to place nearly 3,000 U.S. flags throughout Memorial Park. Each flag bears the name and age of a victim, the location where they died, and personal information about the individual. Those who had a Nebraska connection will be displayed in a special section.

The tribute was originally organized by Lynn Castrianno in honor of her brother, Leonard Castrianno, who was killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The tradition continues as a lasting tribute to Leonard and all those whose lives were lost on that tragic day. 2026 marks the 19th consecutive year of the Tribute of Flags.

The flags will remain on display through Monday, September 14, 2026, providing members of the community an opportunity to visit the display, reflect, and remember.

World Trade Center Steel Beam

During the September 5 setup, the Irvington Volunteer Fire Department will bring a steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The beam will also be brought to the memorial periodically during the weeks that the tribute is on display.

Volunteers Needed

Community members are welcome and encouraged to participate in setting up the flags on September 5.

For information about volunteering, please contact:

Dan Esch
📧 desch402@yahoo.com
📞 (402) 301-9290

Water will be available for volunteers.

The Rotary Club of Omaha is part of Rotary International, a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to addressing humanitarian challenges and strengthening communities around the world.

We invite members of the Omaha community to join us in remembering, honoring, and reflecting on the lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Mark Byars, a proud fifth generation Nebraskan, serves as the President of the Omaha Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.   A voracious reader and life-long history buff with more than 35 years of genealogical research experience, Mark lives near Bennington with his wife, Nicki. Professionally, Mark is the Chief Financial Officer for Adams Land & Cattle, a large cattle feeding operation in central Nebraska.  He also serves as a board member for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and previously served for eight years on the Bennington School Board.  An active member of the Sons of the American Revolution at all levels, Mark is the Nebraska Society’s Registrar and America 250 Chairman, and he serves as Nebraska’s Trustee to the National Society's governing board and is Chairman of the National SAR Finance Committee. A member of several other lineage societies, including the Sons and Daughters of Officers of Colonial Militia, the General Society of Colonial Wars, and the National Society of Descendants of American Farmers, Mark enjoys helping others discover their connection to America's story. 

Denise Powell is a mom, small business owner, former corporate executive, public school champion and healthcare advocate who knows that a strong work ethic and a love of family and community is the Nebraska way of life. She also knows the Good Life is getting harder to come by. It’s why she left a successful career in corporate America to focus on fighting for what makes Nebraska such a special place to live and raise a family. After Trump’s election in 2016, she founded an organization that has supported hundreds of Nebraskans running for local office, protected our public schools and the families they serve, and helped stop extremists from passing abortion bans in the state. 

Denise is running for Congress because while our representatives say they’re fighting for us in Nebraska, they’re voting against us in Washington, DC. Every day, we see more of our friends and neighbors struggling to make ends meet while Donald Trump and MAGA extremists are focused on trade wars that are increasing our cost of living and passing massive tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk. Strong families, strong businesses, strong communities – they ALL require work and investment, but everything we’ve fought for here at home is under threat. From dismantling Medicaid and making it harder for seniors to get the benefits they’ve earned, to dismantling education — from the University of Nebraska to our public schools — to attacking our veterans and ripping away women’s rights, Denise is running to fight for the people of Nebraska. We don’t need lip service from politicians, we need action.