Avenue of Flags is a park in the city of Hermitage in Mercer County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, erected during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979–1981 to honor the American diplomats held hostage in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The park is on the grounds of the Hillcrest Memorial Park cemetery and is open to the public. The memorial began as a single American flag, surrounded by flags representing each of the 50 states, and was created by Tom Flynn, the owner of the adjacent Hillcrest Memorial Park cemetery. On February 11, 1980, the 100th day of captivity, Flynn decided to erect 100 flags and raise one flag every day afterward until the hostages were freed. The American hostages were held in Iran from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. At the end, there were 444 flags, one for each day of captivity. One

Canadian flag The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...

also flies on the avenue as a tribute to the

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

from the Canadian Embassy in Tehran who risked their lives to save six hostages from captivity. There is also an eternal flame which burns in front of the monument dedicated to the eight American servicemen who died in the failed hostage rescue attempt on April 25, 1980. The Avenue of the Flags is now run by the Non-profit Avenue of Flags Foundation.

External links

Avenue of Flags website
{{coord, 41.23450, -80.46136, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title Flags of the United States Monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania Parks in Mercer County, Pennsylvania Hermitage, Pennsylvania Iran hostage crisis