Some travelers stopped in their tracks; people saluted; eyes welled up with tears; others took pictures as the Flag of Honor was hand delivered and paraded through the concourse for a ceremony at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

The United States Flag of Honor is said to be the U.S. flag that was originally flying over the Texas State Capitol during the attack on New York on September 11, 2001.

According to reports, it was then taken to Ground Zero and flown over the site and now serves as a symbol of respect and honor for the men and women of the armed forces, law enforcement and firefighters who serve the country.

It was brought to Houston this month to pay tribute to David Joubert a Harris County deputy from Precinct 7 who was killed in a motorcycle accident on January 12, 2008 while escorting a funeral procession on Cullen Street.

It was carried aboard American Airlines flight 1263, which was met by a water canon salute on the tarmac at IAH.

The pilot personally delivered the flag with a salute to the Department of Public Safety Honor Guard Unit, who then transported it through Terminal A to the waiting hands of a Precinct 7 Honor Guard.

Dozens of airline and airport employees also witnessed the ceremony; many of them spoke of their military service or stood at attention.

“The whole thing sends chills down my arm,” said a bystander during the brief ceremony.

“I call it the goose bump effect,” said Chris Heisler, the man who heads the flag project. “When the flag flies in…it’s amazing to see people, to understand what that flag means and what it means to these officers, firefighters, soldiers.”

Heisler, spent five years in the U.S. Army and has now made the flag project his top priority. He says he’s taken the flag all over the world, including Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and several states in the U.S.