July 3, 2010

There was a report today, apropos of Independence Day, that one of the flags unearthed from the rubble at Ground Zero has been donated to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

In fact, I know of a half dozen significant American flags recovered from Ground Zero in the days and weeks after 9/11, though no one has yet to locate the actual banner from Thomas Franklin’s iconic “flag-raising photograph”—showing three firefighters hoisting the colors at the end of the day on September 11. (The definitive story of the famous flag is explored in last chapter of Watching the World Change.)

Best wishes to all for a peaceful 4th of July.