Here’s Why There Are Rows of American Flags Inside The Maine Mall in South Portland

If you take a quick stroll through the Maine Mall these days, there are a lot of new stores and kiosks to discover. While other malls across the country are struggling, the Maine Mall is thriving. Mall experts will say that you can tell the health of a mall based on how many center aisle kiosks exist.

While there are plenty of stores to catch your eye, there's also a very noticeable display at the mall that has been gaining some attention. Right outside the Best Buy store, passersby will notice two rows of American flags prominently presented.

That American flag display isn't just the Maine Mall suddenly feeling very patriotic. It's a display presented by the Rotary Club of Portland, Maine, as part of their "Flags for Heroes" project.

The "Flags for Heroes" project recognizes and celebrates everyday heroes in communities around Portland. Those heroes could be military but they could also be a teacher, a firefighter, a parent, police officer or minister. Anyone who is helping to better the community and deserves some extra acknowledgment.

Each flag in the rows at the Maine Mall feature a small paper plaque at the bottom recognizing one of the local community heroes. Those plaques list who the local hero is and what their current job title is as well.

The display is arranged so that visitors can walk up and down the 'aisles' and check out each individual flag and which hero it is dedicated to. Here is where you can find more information on how you could nominate a local hero.

The display will continue at the Maine Mall through August 5.