Flight allows deceased veterans, first responders to be a part Sept. 11 commemoration

ELYRIA — On Thursday, veterans, first responders and their loved ones dropped off flags that were once draped over the coffins of local heroes, allowing them to serve their community one more time in a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Locals dropped off the funeral flags of veterans, firefighters, police officers and first responders to the Flight of the Flags group at Elyria City Hall. President and founder Brian Safran said that the flags would be placed in two World War II-era planes, a B-25 bomber and a TBM Avenger Navy torpedo plane, and flown over the sites of several Sept. 11 commemorations and first responder agencies in Northeast Ohio. The flags were placed in commemorative bags provided by the Lorain County Veterans Service Commission and will be returned in those bags to the people who provided them on Monday. Safran began the Flight of the Flags unwittingly seven years ago when he rented the B-25 bomber to fly his father's flag. Soon, other individuals and organizations had asked Safran to do the same thing for their loved ones or fellow veterans, and it developed into the nonprofit he now operates. Safran said he had not planned to hold a flight to mark Sept. 11, saying he usually holds them for more celebratory events, but when a number of veterans organizations across the region reached out, he knew he had to help make it happen. Many of the flags were provided by individual residents honoring their loved ones, including Renee Seman of North Ridgeville. Seman dropped off the flag of her husband, Christopher Seman, a Navy veteran who died at age 51 in March 2024. "I am always just trying to find ways to honor him," Seman said. "Anything I can do to keep his memory alive, and let him know that I still think of him and I still wish he was here every day. Also just the fact that he loved anything to do with (planes). He worked on a flight deck, so he was fond of airplanes. He worked on the F-14 — that was the best plane ever, he said — anything that I can do to honor that. He deserves that, as a veteran as well." Seman said that the flight was also meaningful to her father-in-law, also a Navy veteran, and her stepson who serves in the Navy in Hawaii. Other flags were dropped off by first responders who were honoring their fallen comrades and letting them take part in a commemoration of one of the most devastating but also most powerful days in the history of American firefighters, police officers and other first responders. The Elyria Police Department provided a flag honoring its three fallen officers: James Kerstetter, Bradley Scott and Howard Taft. Amherst Fire Chief Brandon Dimacchia also dropped off flags for fallen members of the department. One was the flag hung over the coffin of Fire Chief Jim Wilhelm, Dimacchia's predecessor, during his funeral in the city in 2024. The other flag was for Donald Reinhardt, a longtime Amherst firefighter who also served in the Navy during World War II. Reinhardt died in 2014. Dimacchia said he was proud that the flags representing the department would be a part of the ceremony. He also said the act would be especially meaningful for Wilhelm, who had a close relationship with members of the New York City Fire Department both before and after the Sept. 11 attacks. "Chief Wilhelm loved FDNY, he had multiple visits to New York over the years and he loved those guys, and of course he was sad like all of us when 9/11 happened," Dimacchia said. "I am telling you, he is going to be looking down on us honored that this is going to be in honor of the 25th anniversary and that he is going to have his flag flown. I am getting goosebumps right now just talking about it." The flags will be loaded onto the planes at the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton, where Safran works as a mechanic. From there, they will be flown over the cities of Norwalk and Bellevue around 9:40 a.m. before departing for Lorain County. Over Lorain County, the planes will take different paths and at least one of them will fly over every major police and fire station in the county, Safran said. They will also fly over multiple locations outside the county. Safran said that viewers can track the live locations of the planes by visiting flightaware.com and searching "N345BG" to track the B-25 and "N436GM" to track the Avenger. At the same time, a 12-plane formation will make two passes over the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman. The flight was completely supported by veterans organizations across the county, including the Lorain County Veterans Service Commission. "One of the things that we are charged with under Ohio Revised Code it to promote patriotism within the county," said Jacob Smith, Army veteran and executive director of the service commission. "Flying deceased veterans' flags in older World War II style planes really kind of brings a closure to those veterans' families. That starts to get feelings going and starts people really thinking about what freedom costs and what these flags represent. That is why we continue to work with (Flight of the Flags)." Smith said that the event also helps to promote the veterans service commission and the benefits that it can help local veterans obtain. The commission, which is funded by local property taxes, brought more than $100 million in benefits into the county in 2024, Smith said. Contact Owen MacMillan at 440-329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.