"Give me your tired, your poor," she said. "Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

And so they came. By the millions.

Men...

...and women...

And above all the parents with their children.

Children they hoped would have a better life.

This is where so many of them first entered the United States.

A huge facility on an island in New York harbor.

Its towers may have seemed fearsome.

Its symbols equally so.

On the right hand (north) side of the building are walls with many panels.

They honor those who had the courage to make the journey.

This wall looks out at the Empire State Building across the harbor.

And there, in the middle, in panel 734...

... are the names of those of my family who dared the trip.

My grandparents and their three-year-old son.
(And yes, I do know how to spell his middle name, but, alas, the Ellis Island Foundation didn't seem to agree with me...).

It's because they came that THIS is my family's flag.
And I am grateful.