When Franklin took the photo on the day of the terrorist attacks, the firefighters – Billy Eisengrein, George Johnson and Dan McWilliams – had removed the flag and its pole from a yacht named Star of America which was docked in the Hudson River near ground zero. The flag will be unveiled at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, where it will remain. It occupies a prominent spot, by itself on the museum’s top floor, befitting its role as an important icon of American history, said Joe Daniels, president of the 9/11 Memorial, which plans to host an event on September 11 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the attacks.
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After the twin towers fell, three firefighters hoisted a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag up a lanyard above ground zero and a photographer captured the moment.
A few days after the episode aired in 2014, a man calling himself “Brian” walked into a fire station in Everett, Washington, with a plastic bag saying he believed he had the flag, reported The New York Times.
But it turned out it wasn’t the right one; the touring flag was larger than the Ground Zero flag, which apparently vanished just hours after Franklin photographed it. But what happened in those missing years is unknown.
Shirley Dreifus told The New York Times she was saddened that her husband died two years ago and could not share the news.
Forensic materials scientist Bill Schneck began taking samples of dust particles from the flag to compare with dust particles from Ground Zero in NY. He said video footage from the area taken five hours later shows it was not on the flagpole.
Everett police have asked the public to help find the man who dropped off the flag. Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg said in the statement that the return of the flag is a “timely reminder of the spirit of our heroes and the resolve of a great city and a great nation”.
In 2002, the yacht’s owners approached city officials about using the flag for a fundraiser, St. Clair said. In it, he said, they’d found a clue, which led to another dead end.
Since then, the flag has been analyzed by police and forensic experts. The flag was then sent back to NY.
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Joseph C. Daniels, the chief executive and president of the memorial and museum, said: “To not have that flag as a part of the museum, it always felt like there was something missing”.
