WTC American Flags

A small number of American flags which flew on or near the WTC during the attacks were recovered during the clean-up efforts. One was found at 5:30 a.m. on the morning of September 12, 2001, by New York City Police Sergeant Gerald Kane and Detective Peter Friscia. While assisting rescue teams at "Ground Zero," they noticed that the large American flag that once flew in front of the WTC at Church Street had been blown off the flagpole during the collapse of the buildings and was tangled upside down on a streetlight several feet away. The two men recruited a number of soldiers and firefighters in the area who hoisted a ladder to the top of the streetlight. Detective Friscia climbed the rungs of the ladder to the top, untangled and retrieved the flag and brought it down to the ground. Kerik later released the flag to NASA officials and it was transported aboard the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-108) as part of its December 5–17, 2001, mission to the International Space Station. On Flag Day, June 14, 2002, the American flag was returned to the people of New York City by Sean O'Keefe of NASA and Commander Dom Gorie and the crew members of the Endeavour, in a ceremony at the Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History. The flag is secured and maintained by New York City's Commissioner of Records and is part of the annual 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero.
Another flag, which had originally flown atop one of the towers, was recovered three days after the attacks and, owing to its poor condition, was turned over to the National Guard for its ceremonial destruction. The National Guard then discovered from a label that the flag was the property of the Port Authority, and instead of retiring the flag, returned it. It was then used during the memorial service of several first responders, and was flown during both the 2001 World Series and Super Bowl XXXVI. The flag was also used, controversially, in the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City. Initially the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to allow the flag to be used in ceremony, fearing it would be seen as too pro-American, overly patriotic, and create complications during future ceremonies. But an agreement was eventually reached between the event organizers and the IOC, which allowed the flag to be carried into Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium by both U.S. athletes and 9/11 first responders. The flag was carried into the stadium in silence, after which the flag bearers paused in front of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, allowing them to sing The Star-Spangled Banner, while a separate American flag was raised.