OLD GLORY REDISCOVERED ANGELENOS LINE UP TO BUY U.S. FLAGS.

San Fernando Valley area residents lined up for hours Thursday to buy American flags to fly in a declaration of solidarity and mourning for victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

Local retail outlets sold hundreds of thousands of flags, as residents feeling a burst of patriotism stripped store shelves bare in their rush to buy flags for display over homes, at businesses and on cars.

More than 300 American flags tied with black ribbons will go up on North Valley streets this morning in memory of the thousands who lost their lives in the attacks Tuesday on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Northridge said they would mount the flags on portions of Reseda Boulevard, Chatsworth Street and Nordhoff along the bridge south of the Northridge Fashion Center.

``It's a big visual display of our patriotism. Americans got away from showing their patriotism for a while,'' said Kiwanis Club member Gary Washburn, a Chatsworth resident and Vietnam veteran.

Throughout the region, residents rallied to show their patriotism and solidarity - planning prayer services for today, donating money and their blood to the Red Cross, and buying flags. Some said they kept their children home from school and helped them write letters to the victims and their families in New York and Washington, D.C.

In Burbank, residents waited for nearly three hours to buy flags from manufacturer James E. Perry Co. The line snaked outside the small storefront and along the sidewalk. Area restaurants, including Domino's Pizza, donated food so customers could eat lunch without losing their places in the long line.

Wal-Mart stores reported selling hundreds of thousands of flags following Tuesday's tragedy.

``We've sold every one that we had,'' said Lani Kai Abbott, manager of the Porter Ranch Wal-Mart. ``When we find one, if there's a customer out there, we get it to them. Right now, we have an emergency order of four types of flags, with 200 of each kind.''

Kmart spokeswoman Abigail Jacobs said they'd sold 90 percent of their flags in stock and were busy restocking.

Howard Furst, owner of Los Angeles-based AAA Sign & Banner, which has nine stores in Southern California, had a quarter-million flags in stock before Tuesday's attacks.

``We probably sold more than 100,000 flags today,'' said Furst, who said he's down to his last. ``Most of the manufacturers are back East, and with the planes shut down it's going to be hard to get more for now.''

Cars pulled into a parking lot outside of Sav-On Drugs, where two people sold American flags for $10 each.

Sherman Oaks resident Sharri Zak said she left her house specifically to look for a flag she could fly from her car. ``I want to say to the people responsible for this: Whoever you are, you can knock me down, but you can't keep me down,'' she said. ``That's America.'' Zak has flown a U.S. flag outside her home since Tuesday.

Children at Adat Ari El Elementary School, a Jewish day school in Valley Village, planned to dress in red, white and blue today as they celebrate the Jewish Sabbath.

``We will light four candles in memory of the four planes and sing a Hebrew song for peace,'' said Lana Marcus, who heads the school. ``We will blow the shofar in a call for peace and also bring all the flags from the classrooms into the service.''

Kelly Khoury once engaged in a 9-month struggle with Glendale City Council to be allowed to fly 20 flags over his Shell station on Pacific Avenue. On Thursday, there were more than 35 flags flying overhead, and he gave away dozens more to his customers.

``This is what this country is all about. We must celebrate our freedom. I like to show my patriotism and love for this country,'' said Khoury, who immigrated to the United States from Jordan in 1982 after suffering religious persecution as a Christian in his country. ``We have freedom here, and it makes me really upset to see what happened to these people.''

Staff Writer Brent Hopkins contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Encino residents David Nuzzi and his mother, Joyce Nuzzi, spent some time Thursday at AAA Flag and Banner in Sherman Oaks in their quest for a Stars and Stripes to display at their home.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(2) Harlan Hobbs mounted three U.S. flags on his car in a rolling tribute to the three American heroes who sacrificed their lives to overpower hijackers on a United Airlines flight that crashed near Pittsburgh.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

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HOW TO DISPLAY THE FLAG

SOURCE: Daily News research