MEDWAY – Reacting to Tuesday’s tragic terrorist attack, two Medway teen-agers have taken to the streets in an effort to boost morale and rally patriotism in the area.

Carrying a 3-foot-by-5-foot American flag and a poster that reads “Honk For Your Country,” the two Schenck High School seniors caught the attention of motorists Thursday and Friday as they walked many of the busy streets in the three-town area.

“My intentions are to just raise morale,” said Adam Thompson, 17, of Medway. “Our nation has been hit with something very heavy and it’s not over yet. We have got to bring our country together. We can’t go worldwide, but we can start in our small communities and really bring people together in national unity.”

Thompson and his friend Chris DiCentes, 17, of Medway said public reaction to their effort has been excellent.

“People have feelings about what is going on. They want to stand up and say, ‘Yes I’m proud of my country and I want to make a stand right now,'” Thompson said.

“We really stirred up a lot of people,” said DiCentes, who carried a poster with a picture of his late grandfather, Augustine DiCentes of Millinocket, who served in the Army during World War II. “We had veterans come up, congratulate us and tell us we were doing a good job.”

DiCentes plans to pursue a career in computer programming after graduation.

DiCentes and Thompson also want to show that young people today do have a strong sense of patriotism. “A lot of people say our generation has no patriotism. I feel that is very incorrect,” said Thompson, who plans a career in the U.S. Air Force after graduation next spring. He serves in the Air Force Auxiliary in Bangor, which is part of the Air Force Reserve.

Both young men said they believe the United States is a great country.

After walking about six miles around Millinocket on Thursday, the Medway teens, including Joseph Day, another senior at Schenck, held what they called a “moving patriotic rally” by walking more than 12 miles from Medway to Millinocket on Friday.

The sight of New York firefighters hoisting a giant flag in the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers inspired Thompson and DiCentes to buy their own flag and proudly display it.

Thompson and DiCentes said many of the students at Schenck brought small flags to school to show support for the country.

The Medway teens aren’t the only ones showing their patriotism – so are residents and businesses all over northern Penobscot County.

The flags at the Millinocket Municipal Building flew at half-staff Friday. Several businesses displayed patriotic signs. A sign at one Millinocket auto dealership read, “America is united: forever courageous.”

Even a huge rock, located along Route 6 in Lincoln, has been painted red, white and blue, resembling a flag, with the message “USA All the Way.”