I donated 9/11 flag — Wash. man

THE IDENTITY of the man who returned the historic U.S. flag raised by firefighters over the World Trade Center rubble has been revealed.

Brian Browne (below), 45, says he’s the man who gave the iconic Stars and Stripes to firefighters in Everett, Wash., in 2014, the Daily Herald reported Wednesday.

Browne, a military memorabilia collector, said he received the flag in 2006 from a friend he believed got it from the wife of a former New York City employee.

He didn’t realize the wool banner was the historic one that had gone missing from Ground Zero until Oct. 31, 2014, when the flag became the focus of a television show, “Brad Meltzer’s Lost History.”

After comparing it with photos to make sure it was authentic, Browne handed the flag over to firefighters in his hometown of Everett.

But he was initially afraid to reveal his identity when he dropped it off.

“I’m a pretty regular person. I’ve never been in front of law enforcement. I was worried the FBI was going to show up on my door,” he told the Daily Herald.

He came forward now to set the historic record straight, he added.

On 9/11, the flag became one of the most lasting images of that terrible day.

Shortly after the towers buckled, firefighters saw the banner on the Star of America, a yacht docked at the World Financial Center. Three firefighters — George Johnson, Billy Eisengrein and Dan McWilliams — brought Old Glory to the rubble and proudly hoisted it on a lanyard.

The flag was swapped for another one the following day — and the iconic Stars and Stripes seen worldwide got lost amid the chaotic search for survivors and the ensuing cleanup effort.

The banner is now on permanent display inside the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.