Raising the Flag at Ground Zero facts for kids
The photo Raising the Flag at Ground Zero was taken by Thomas E. Franklin. He worked for The Record newspaper in New Jersey. This famous picture was taken on September 11, 2001. It shows three New York City firefighters raising the U.S. flag. They are at Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center once stood. This was right after the September 11 attacks.
The Record newspaper called the photo Firefighters Raising Flag or Firemen Raising the Flag at Ground Zero. It was on the front page of The Record on September 12, 2001. Many newspapers worldwide also featured it. People often compare it to the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photo. That picture was taken during World War II by Joe Rosenthal.
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About the Photograph
Franklin took this picture shortly after 5 p.m. He used a special camera lens called a telephoto lens. He was standing under a walkway near the World Financial Center. This building was close to the World Trade Center site.
Franklin said the firefighters were about 150 yards (137 meters) away from him. They were about 20 feet (6 meters) off the ground. He had arrived around noon by riding a tugboat across the Hudson River. He saw the firefighters with another photographer, James Nachtwey.
The firefighters in the photo were George Johnson from Brooklyn, Dan McWilliams from Long Island, and Billy Eisengrein from Staten Island. They were all brave members of the New York City Fire Department.
The Flag's Story
The flag in the photo came from a yacht named Star of America. This yacht belonged to Shirley Dreifus and her husband. It was docked in the Hudson River. Firefighter McWilliams cut the flag and its pole from the yacht.
They then took the flag to an area where people were being evacuated. They found a pole sticking out of debris. This debris was thought to be from the Marriott World Trade Center hotel. The hotel was next to the Twin Towers.
The Missing Flag Mystery
Soon after it was raised, the flag disappeared. The city thought they had the original flag. Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor George Pataki even signed it. This flag flew at New York City Hall and Yankee Stadium. It also flew on the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier.
However, it turned out this was not the real flag from Ground Zero. The yacht's flag was 4 by 6 feet (1.2 by 1.8 meters). The flag the city had was 5 by 8 feet (1.5 by 2.4 meters). Shirley Dreifus, the flag's owner, even made a website to find her flag.
A 2013 CNN film called The Flag looked into this mystery. It showed video evidence that the flag went missing just hours after it was first raised.
The Flag is Found
The original flag has now been found! It was recovered after a TV show helped. The show was called Brad Meltzer's Lost History on the History Channel in 2014. Scientists have checked the flag and confirmed it is real.
The flag was shown to the public on September 11, 2016. This was the 15th anniversary of 9/11. It was part of a History Channel special called America's 9/11 Flag: Rise From the Ashes.
How the Photo Was Used Later
The photo was used on a special stamp called "Heroes 2001." A lawyer named Michael Kessel suggested this idea to U.S. Representative Gary Ackerman. President George W. Bush showed the stamp for the first time on March 11, 2002.
Thomas Franklin, George Johnson, Billy Eisengrein, and Dan McWilliams were all there. These stamps were "semipostal" stamps. This means they cost more than their postage value. The extra money went to help with disaster relief efforts.
Statues and Monuments
In December 2001, the New York City Fire Department planned a statue. It would be based on the photograph. This statue was meant to include firefighters of different backgrounds. However, the statue was never built.
On November 5, 2007, a large bronze monument was dedicated. It is 40 feet (12 meters) tall. It is called To Lift A Nation. It shows three firefighters raising the flag over the World Trade Center ruins. This monument is at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Other Photos of the Event
Thomas E. Franklin's picture is very famous. But other photographers also took pictures of the same event. Lori Grinker from Contact Press Images took photos from a different angle. Ricky Flores for The Journal News also captured the scene. Flores was able to get into a nearby building. He took his picture around the same time Franklin took his.
