The Final Salute: Friends say goodbye to Carmen Footer of the Freeport Flag Ladies
For 18 years, the trio of Carmen Footer, Elaine Greene, and Joanne Miller stood waving the stars and stripes every week without Fail.
The group, known as the Freeport Flag Ladies, started their patriot tradition after 9/11 and ended it in 2019.
It was an era that ended last Wednesday after Footer died at the age of 81.
On Tuesday, friends and community members gathered at their spot to honor her the only way they could.
“We stood out here for 18 years and a lot of these people stood with us off and on, and now they’re standing here to honor Carmen’s memory now,” Greene said.
Greene shared a home with Footer to the end. She said her fellow flag lady was always good for a smile.
“Her sense of humor that never got figured out. She sometimes explained to me what she was saying, and I thought it was funny. But she was a hard worker, you know?” Greene said. “This is a very rough day, but a very happy day, too.”
Amy Gove, a longtime friend, said the tribute could not have been more appropriate for footer.
“They stood on that corner over there for 18 years through smoke, through fire that was going on -- through cold, through snow, through rain. They stood through everything. So that's why we took it Tuesday morning to honor her, because this is where she was every Tuesday,” Gove said.
As Footer’s friends and fellow patriots saluted her for the final time, Greene reflected on how the gathering sums up everything the Freeport Flag Ladies represented.
“This represents the good part of America. Not Democrats, Republicans, Independents here, But Americans, first and foremost, they’re Americans who never stood up here tell you what to think. Who just stood up here to remind you that you can get involved in what you believe in, and to be kind and good. If you do those things, your nation benefits, Greene said.