ROCKLAND — Before their homecoming game on the weekend of 9/11, the Rockland football team marched on the field with 13 flags to honor the 13 U.S. service members who were killed in the Kabul airport explosion on Aug. 26.

The team held the flags during the national anthem and afterward mounted them along the fence line for the remainder of the game along with a metal mural a community member created and dedicated to the memory of those soldiers.

Though Rockland is a small community, the members of the football team explained they were proud to participate in the event and wanted to let the families of the service members know that they remembered and appreciated their sacrifice.

“It really hit home to me and I felt bad for the family members of those Marines,” said senior Dylan Merritt. “I just thought that this was the least we could do for them. They sacrificed a lot and we are mourning with their families.”

A teacher at the school who wished to remain anonymous explained she’d filmed the event and sent the video to the families of the 13 soldiers and even received a grateful reply from one of the families in return.

“I sent the video to families that lost loved ones and they saw them which was really cool,” she said. “And (one of the families) came back and said, ‘This gave me goosebumps, such a beautiful tribute. Thank you for sharing.’”

The teacher explained she’d tossed the idea of the flag ceremony out to the team, and they in return jumped on the idea and did much of the work in preparing for the event. It was a learning experience for those involved, she mentioned, especially for those students who hadn’t heard of the bombing until the idea was brought up.

“I really liked that we were supporting them because the media didn’t show much of the 13 soldiers that died in Afghanistan,” said senior Wesley Matthews. “It really came out to show that there are people out there that do care about them, and it doesn’t matter what the media says. It’s more of what your heart says about the country and they’re out there fighting for our country and it really shows to us.”

For anyone interested in viewing the video, visit their Youtube page at Rockland School District 382 or use the search option on the platform and look up “09-10-21 Rockland Football Team Hoors 13 Marines”.