World’s tallest flagpole proposed for Maine; Billion dollar project would honor American veterans – CBS Boston

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (CBS) — The nonprofit Wreaths Across America wants to put the world’s tallest flagpole in a part of rural Maine.

The “Flagpole of Freedom Park” site in Columbia Falls would become the only place in the United States to honor all 24 million American veterans in one location. The mast would be built on a hill so that the top would reach 1,776 feet above sea level. It would also have two observation decks and a museum.

Surrounding the flag would be 55 individual walls of memorial with the names of every veteran in United States history engraved on them – “the equivalent of 411 Vietnam Wall memorials”.

“It’s just in the flight path of planes going back and forth overseas,” said Morrill Worcester of Wreaths Across America. “This pole is going to fly the last flag they see. And it’s also the first flag they’ll see on their way home.

The first phase of the project will cost $1 billion and would be funded by private donations.