Flagpole of Freedom Park facts for kids
The Flagpole of Freedom Park is a proposed multi-use complex to be built at Columbia Falls, Maine for the United States Semiquincentennial.
Project
Proposed by the Worcester family that runs Wreaths Across America, the proposed park would honor approximately 24 million veterans, with each of their names inscribed on 55 memorial walls, becoming "the only place in the country to honor all...veterans in one location" and the Worcesters claiming that it is "the equivalent of 411 Vietnam Wall Memorials." In addition, during the initial phase, set to open on July 4, 2026, of the planned 10-year project, a 1,461-foot flagpole, designed by LeMessurier Consultants, would be built with an elevator inside, becoming the tallest in the world and surpassing, by seven feet, the height of the Empire State Building, bearing a flag larger than a football field becoming the world's largest. The flagpole will stand on a 315-foot hill, with a total aggregate height of 1,776 above sea level, and one of the two planned observation decks, the "Observation Ball" deck, will "[allow] for 360 degree views in a 100 mile radius."
It will also count with an 4,000-set amphitheater and concert space, and hiking trails, which would be used as such during the summer months and transformed for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing during the wintertime. Furthermore it will play host to restaurants, shops, and a hotel, in a sector called "The Village of Old Glory," having six-living history museums as well as "immersive tech-driven exhibits." The Worcesters claim that 90% of the park will be free to the public, with the remaining 10% limited to ticketing of events at the theatre and the museums, the latter called Halls of History.
The idea had been under development for thirteen years, and the Worcesters have commented that "[while] we can’t really give it the title of a national park, but it will have almost more meaning than a national park."
The project originally prognosticated a workforce of 8,000, then increased to 3,000 for construction and approximately 12,000 full-time employees when completed. To house the construction workers, the Worcesters propose building living quarters which would be turned into vacation rentals when the project is culminated.
The park, located on 2,500 acres of balsam forest used for Worcester Wreaths, which supplies the garlands for Wreaths Across America, would be located "about an hour-and-a-half from Bangor and from the Canadian border." The specific site was chosen because of its locations on the flightpaths for overseas trips, with the Worcesters claiming "[t]his pole is going to be flying the last flag that they’ll see. And also it’s the first flag they’ll see when they come home,” even though they had stated that the concept of locating it in Washington County was allegedly due to the increase of tourists during the COVID-19 Pandemic. When asked about the implications to the natural landscape of bringing 12,000 employees into the area Washington County Commissioner Chris Gardner commented "we’re going to file that under good problems," comparing it to the 5,000 individuals who lived in Eastport, Maine in 1900. Gardner has further commented that "it will truly fit into the fabric of our community." Likewise, sate senator Marianne Moore sees it as an initiative that "will create abundant opportunities for our area to thrive."
The $1 billion project, which is not a nonprofit, instead being registered under a for-profit limited liability company (LLC), will be initially funded through private donations ranging from $600 to $1,800, with the rights to gain life access to the site, as well as be memorialized on its walls. The Worcesters have claimed that if the project is not at least 25% funded in a year's time, they will return the donations. The projected annual tax revenue would be $27 million.
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022 details of the project were publicly announced at a press conference held at the August Civic Center. Two days later, Triple Impact Connections, which labels itself as "a first-of-its-kind veteran-owned customer contact center staffed by military spouses," made a press release stating that it was "[aligning] with the Flagpole of Freedom team."
Reactions
Veterans are largely a humble lot and the respect of our families, neighbors and local community is plenty sufficient, thank you...Veterans do not need a theme park. They are people who have struggled, fought, and died to see this country flourish, in freedom, in harmony, and with the promise of prosperity.
Reactions have been mixed, with News Center Maine commenting "[i]t's a plan that has drawn praise, curiosity, and criticism." A common criticism was the amount of money raised could be used to directly aid veterans. In response, Rob Worcester commented that "instead of competing with those causes...we would align with those, choose some of those to support with our profits." Charles Kniffen, a combat-wounded veteran of the Vietnam War and the author of “Fifty Years in a Foxhole," penned an op-ed, calling the project "an affront, perceiving it "as an effort to cash in...far beyond any claim to respect,' concluding "a giant flagpole marring the beauty of our land and beckoning with an unsightly frenzy of flags to persons from afar is no honor."
For his part, Andrew Carleen, a U.S. Navy-veteran, recalled the "Things Unnecessary" store in The Simpsons 'Tis the Fifteenth Season, calling "[t]he entire plan is a masterstroke of ostentatiousness." Carleen contrasted it to the Vietnam War Memorial, stating that "they do so while annihilating the sober minimalism that makes the original so striking," terming it, as well as the overuse of the flag, as "a child’s definition of patriotism."
