Memorial flag raised at home of Giffords, Kelly

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, raised a special flag in the courtyard of their Tucson home Friday.

It was a flag that was placed at one of the three makeshift memorials that were created by Tucsonans and others after the Jan. 8, 2011, assassination attempt on Giffords.

It was presented to Giffords and Kelly by Tucson Police Department Officers Charles Foley and Bradley Clark.

They received the flag from the Tucson’s January 8th Memorial Foundation for their nonprofit organization Flags for the Flagless.

The organization, with community support, puts flags on barren flagpoles throughout the city and donates flags to schools and groups.

“It means a lot to Gabby and me that we can fly a (memorial) flag at our house,” Kelly said. “This is a special day for us.”

The couple put up a flagpole in their courtyard about six months ago. They plan to fly the memorial flag on special occasions, such as Flag Day, Veterans Day and the Fourth of July, Kelly said.

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Giffords was at a Congress on Your Corner event on Tucson’s northwest side when she was shot in the head during a shooting spree that injured 13 and killed six.

American flags were among about 5,000 items left at the memorials by people grieving for those who died, and those praying for Giffords and the others injured.

The flags, flowers, banners, stuffed animals, flowers and candles were among the items left at then University Medical Center, outside Giffords’ congressional office, and at the northwest-side shopping center where the shooting took place.

Thousands of items have been catalogued, and many will find a home in a planned history museum in the old Pima County Courthouse, said Joni Jones, who was Giffords’ office manager and helped catalogue items.

Jones is also the chair of the archive committee for the Tucson’s January 8th Memorial Foundation, which gave flags to Flags for the Flagless to distribute to schools and sites that needed them.

“Thousands of objects were left at the memorials, and the flag is special and meaningful to us,” said Kelly, thanking the community for its support of his wife, him and the other families affected by the shooting.