{"id":365,"date":"2013-09-10T09:13:06","date_gmt":"2013-09-10T13:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=365"},"modified":"2024-06-17T13:25:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T17:25:04","slug":"searching-for-911-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/searching-for-911-flag\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for 9\/11 flag"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James Breig<\/a><\/p>\n

When is A<\/em> flag not THAT<\/em> flag?<\/p>\n

\"Postage<\/a>
Postage stamp with flag from Sept. 11, 2001<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That odd but important question lies at the heart of a documentary that debuted Sept. 4 on CNN. The 90-minute program, \u201cThe Flag,\u201d went in search of the banner that flew atop the rubble of 9\/11 in New York City<\/a> in 2001.<\/p>\n

Everyone remembers THAT<\/em> flag. A famous photograph captured the moment when three firemen created a makeshift memorial that was, at once, a salute to those who died, a summons to renewed patriotism and a vow to triumph.<\/p>\n

Official “We Remember” 9\/11 Memorial Flag\"9-11The flag they raised was taken from a yacht moored near Ground Zero. When the owners asked for it back so they could donate it to the Smithsonian Museum, they got A <\/em>flag, but not THAT<\/em> flag. The returned banner was much larger than the one removed from their boat, which was appropriately named \u201cStar of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what happened to the original flag, the one in the photo? That\u2019s what the documentary sought to answer.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Iwo Jima flag image on a WWII poster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That question recalls another famous flag: the one raised by six World War II servicemen atop the island of Iwo Jima in February 1945. Images of that moment were used to sell war bonds and to rally Americans. The iconic photograph of the raising, just as with the 9\/11 image, was used in many forms: as postage stamps, souvenir items, sculptures and even a wax museum display. The WWII raising was also the subject of a book and film, \u201cFlags of Our Fathers.\u201d<\/p>\n

But THAT<\/em> flag has its own \u201cwhich flag\u201d story. The Iwo Jima photo actually shows the raising of a second — and larger — flag on the hill.<\/p>\n

The CNN film asks a simple but profound question about the 9\/11 flag: Does it matter where the original is? Does it matter how many versions of Old Glory<\/a> flapped on Iwo Jima? Does the existence of the actual object matter when the abstract concepts it stood for \u2013 survival, memory, love for country \u2013 endure?<\/p>\n

Similar questions arise in families when mementos \u2013 great-granddad\u2019s tools or grandma\u2019s suffragette banner \u2013 turn out to be misattributed to them. Aren\u2019t the abstract ideas \u2013 my ancestor worked with his hands or stood up for her rights \u2013 enough?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an intriguing question, and there isn\u2019t an easy answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James Breig When is A flag not THAT flag? That odd but important question lies at the heart of a documentary that debuted Sept. 4 on CNN. The 90-minute program, \u201cThe Flag,\u201d went in search of the banner that flew atop the rubble of 9\/11 in New York City in 2001. Everyone remembers THAT… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[116,10,119,118,117,112],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-911-flag","tag-american-flag","tag-flags-of-our-fathers","tag-ground-zero","tag-the-flag","tag-world-war-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nSearching for 9\/11 flag - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/searching-for-911-flag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Searching for 9\/11 flag - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By James Breig When is A flag not THAT flag? 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