Central Florida homeowner honor 9/11 victims with 2,977 American flags in yard

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - An Altamonte Springs homeowner placed 2,977 American flags in his front yard as a memorial to the victims of the September 11th terror attacks.

Mitch Krause said he started doing a memorial for the 9/11 victims in 2002 because he wanted to remember the victims but it took on a grander scale in 2008.

“I just felt that we weren’t taking the time to remember them as much,” he said.

Now, every year, his family places 2,977 flags in the front yard of his home and puts up two big signs reminding people to never forget. He said it takes about 14 hours to place the flags and he spends the time reflecting on the magnitude of the loss.

“I’m thinking about the victims. I’m also thinking about the people that I knew that were there, that are gone.”

RELATED: Never forget: A timeline of the events of September 11, 2001

Krause said he used to live in New York and lost friends in the attacks who were first responders and worked in the towers.

Krause said every year he changes the design and in 2013 he arranged the flags in the shape of the Twin Towers. He said he hopes people who see the flags take time to pay their respects to those who lost their lives.

“I want them to think about the loss, the victims that each one of these flags is somebody’s mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, son, [and] daughter.”