With the 15th anniversary of 9/11 just around the corner, many Americans all over the country look back to that morning and remember exactly where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard the terrible news.
I was very young at the time, but I remember that morning like it was yesterday. I grew up seeing pictures and footage coming out of ground zero on every anniversary.
But for me, like many others, one of the pictures that stands out the most is the the photo of firefighters re-erecting the fallen American flag in the middle of the rubble that was the World Trade Center. The iconic photo symbolizes the spirit of the American people after the tragedy. Even with this loss, we can persist and overcome adversity with the values we hold dear — freedom and brotherhood.
But just days after the towers fell, the flag in the photo disappeared. Its whereabouts were a mystery, and no one knew who took it or where it went.
That is, until now, 15 years later
The flag was returned to the Everett Fire Station 1, in Everett, WA, by an anonymous man in 2014. It took forensic experts two years to determine, with a battery of tests, that this was, in fact, the missing flag.
Now, the flag has been returned to Manhattan, just in time for the memorial to take place on the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks.
Please SHARE if you're relieved that such a crucial piece of our history has returned home.
