Volunteers will carry 2,977 American flags in a procession to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, planting one for every person killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Kiwanis Club of Marietta's Field of Flags Memorial returns for its sixth installation this year, marking a quarter-century since the attacks. The club first organized the display in 2002 and stages it every five years, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. East Cobb residents looking for a hands-on way to mark the anniversary can join the procession or volunteer for the planting at the park, which sits just west of the community off Kennesaw Mountain Drive.

How to participate

The Flag Parade begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at Grace Community Church. Participants will walk approximately one mile to the park, where they will help place flags across the battlefield grounds. The event is free and open to the public.

The Kiwanis Club is actively seeking volunteers for the Aug. 29 planting. Registration and details are available at 911fieldofflags.com.

Rising costs, community donations

Getting 2,977 flags ready is no small task. A few dozen volunteers gathered in late July off Roswell Street to assemble flags, attaching them to poles, capping them and rolling them up for transport.

Justin O'Dell, a Kiwanis Club member and one of three co-chairs for the project, told the MDJ on July 19 that rising material costs would have pushed the 2026 budget past six figures without help. In previous years, the project cost between $45,000 and $50,000. Donations from the city of Marietta, Home Depot and Withers Tool in Mableton kept it afloat.

"If we hadn't had the materials donated, it wouldn't have happened," O'Dell said.

The city donated the flags themselves, Home Depot provided supplies and Withers Tool contributed labor.

Returning volunteers

Marietta resident Stephanie De Benedictis, who carried a flag during the very first Field of Flags in 2002, returned to help assemble flags in July. Nan Bennett, a member of the Fielding Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, joined through the DAR's partnership with the Kiwanis Club. Bennett recalled being in Washington, D.C., when the World Trade Center was attacked.

Memorial service on Sept. 11

The Kiwanis Club will hold a 25th Anniversary Memorial Service at 7:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at the park, located at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive. The ceremony will include a reading of all 2,977 victims' names.

The flag display will remain in place through Saturday, Sept. 19. Both events are free.