RUMFORD – A committee that organized an event marking the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has apologized for the improper disposal of thousands of American flags in a New Hampshire landfill.

The flags were supposed to have been burned following a ceremony Sept. 7 organized by the Sept. 11 Remembrance Day Committee. Instead, they were taken to a local transfer station and later sent to North Country Environmental Services Inc.’s landfill in Bethlehem, N.H.

Work crews at the landfill spent at least 12 hours digging through rubbish but retrieved only two flags.

“They were all mixed up with other stuff. It was like a needle in a haystack. We didn’t think it would be that difficult,” Lenny Wing, division manager for the North Country facility.

Rumford has offered to pay for the time and equipment used in the search for the flags, but the landfill company declined.

“Half the people in the company are vets, so the company paid for it,” Wing said.

On Monday, Sept. 11th committee spokeswoman Jolene Lovejoy issued a statement of apology “for the unfortunate ending of our flag retirement ceremony on Sept. 7. We will long regret the outcome of the day.”

The statement also thanked Rumford and landfill employees for their efforts to retrieve the flags, but it did not explain why the mistake occurred. Lovejoy accepted no questions and said no further statement would be made by the committee.

The committee’s membership includes nearly a dozen people representing veterans’ organizations in Rumford.

Rumford’s town manager, Robert Welch, said there was “no excuse for this. No one feels worse than I do. I’m a vet.”

Welch said the town officials who will discuss the matter further might decide to hold a proper flag retirement ceremony for the two banners that were recovered.