Mystery of 9/11 flag solved
It was a symbol of first-responders’ heroic actions and a nation’s unconquerable spirit after the 9/11 terrorist attacks: the image of three firefighters hoisting an American flag above the rubble of Ground Zero, captured by a Record photographer.
Since that photo was taken, the flag ’s fate was a mystery — until Tuesday.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City announced that the flag had been turned over to authorities in Wash- ington state — by a man whose identity remains unknown — and would be unveiled at the museum Thursday.
“I’m glad that the flag is going to be at the 9/11 museum; that’s where it belongs,” said Thomas E. Franklin, who took the iconic photograph.
A man who said he was named Brian dropped off the flag and an attached halyard at a fire station in Everett, Wash., in November 2014. Police contacted The
Record and received high-resolution images of Franklin’s photo that helped identify unique characteristics of the halyard. Police determined its authenticity and turned it over in early August.