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Title: The 9-11 Flag From Ground Zero Is Missing | Brad Meltzer
Source:
huffingtonpost.com
URL Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad- ... ag-from-ground-_b_6029606.html
Published: Oct 24, 2014
Author: Brad Meltzer
Post Date: 2014-11-10 01:44:35 by GreyLmist
Keywords: September 11, 2001, Ground Zero, flag
Views: 317
Comments: 8
You know the photo. On September 11, 2001, three firefighters raised an American flag above the rubble at Ground Zero. One hundred feet away, photographer Thomas Franklin snapped a shot for the Bergen Record that, a day later, would be seen around the world, providing a ray of hope in a moment of darkness. But guess what? Today, that famous flag is missing. And it's not the only piece of history that's been taken. Where'd the flag go? You can help us find out. It began with firefighter Dan McWilliams. He's the one who first saw the flag hanging from the back of a yacht docked near Ground Zero. It was McWilliams's idea to raise the flag on the flagpole. A simple and brilliant notion. From there, McWilliams, along with firefighters George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein, hoisted the 3x5 flag on the afternoon of 9/11 as photographer Franklin took his famous picture. In the days that followed, the Associated Press picked up the photo, then it was on the cover of Newsweek, then on a U.S. postage stamp. Indeed, after 9/11, the flag become so famous, New York City Hall requested it for a massive ceremony at Yankee Stadium. On September 23, at the stadium, the flag was signed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and other top officials, then raised in front of 20,000 people to commemorate the victims of 9/11. From there, the flag was given to the Navy, so it could be raised on ships heading to war in Afghanistan. The flag then traveled the world, flying high at countless ceremonies before finally returning to New York City in early 2012. So when did the flag go missing? It was after a Greek-American couple, Spiro Kopelakis and Shirley Dreifus, announced that they were the owners of the original flag -- it was their yacht, the Star of America -- that was docked at a marina near Ground Zero. This patriotic couple didn't demand the flag for themselves. They wanted to ensure that it was displayed in a museum for everyone to see. But when they borrowed the flag for a charity event to honor firefighters, they realized the sad truth: The famous flag was the wrong size. It wasn't the 3x5 flag that was on the back of their boat on 9/11. And the three firefighters all agreed, it wasn't the 3x5 flag that they'd raised in the famous photograph. What's worse, this imposter flag bears the signatures of the city officials who signed it at Yankee Stadium. In other words, the flag that was raised at Yankee Stadium and then sent around the world? That was not the original flag! So what happened to the real 9/11 flag? To this day, no one knows. We're trying to change that as we launch the TV show Lost History, premiering Friday, October 31 at 10 p.m. EST on H2, and offer a reward of up to $10,000 if you help us find this famous flag. A few years ago, a new clue emerged: On the night of 9/11, a New York police officer was shooting surveillance footage at Ground Zero. In this footage, at 10:30 p.m., the famous flagpole from the photo is bare. The flag is already gone, meaning that it had already been taken down within five hours of the iconic photo. To this day, New York City has no leads, nor does the FDNY. Some experts suggest the real flag was misplaced at Ground Zero in the days after 9/11. Others suggest it was stolen. Others guess it may have been used to cover the body of a slain first responder and therefore could be stored in a morgue. All we know for sure is that the real flag came down from the flagpole the night of 9/11, and a different flag was raised 12 days later at Yankee Stadium. Why does it matter? It's our history. These are our stories. And now, we need your help. If you know something, go to History.com and file a tip. Help us find our lost history. -- Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer of The Inner Circle. His non-fiction children's books include I Am Amelia Earhart, I Am Abraham Lincoln, and I Am Rosa Parks. His new TV show, Brad Meltzer's Lost History [Season 1, Episode 1: The Ground Zero Flag] debuts on Friday, October 31 at 10pm EST on H2 [History Channel]. Poster Comment: At 2 minutes into the opening of the program, Thomas Von Essen, NYC Fire Commissioner (Ret.), says: "I immediately responded. I got there very quickly. And, as I was walking in, we felt a vibration and we thought it was an explosion on the upper floors. But I got a report immediately saying, 'Commissioner, the South Tower was hit.'" What he did not say is that he heard any noise like a plane. At 4 minutes into the program, there is a picture of a 3x5 flag on a yacht that alleged firefighter, Dan McWilliams, supposedly decided to steal for morale purposes as he was walking by the Marina during a safety evacuation. Although Fire Department personnel are, as a rule, respectful enough of flag protocols to take some care that the flag does not touch the ground as it's being raised or lowered by holding onto it at both ends, at 5, 16 and 19 minutes into the program, the bottom of the stolen flag is shown to be negligently/deliberately down in the rubble as it is about to be raised "Iwo Jima style" by the 3 alleged firefighters: Dan McWilliams, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein. At 19 minutes, a picture is shown of a large flag, said to be covering the body of a deceased First Responder being lifted into an ambulance. Meltzer suggested that's an intriguing theory of what happened to the missing Ground Zero flag (even though the 3x5 flag stolen from the yacht by McWilliams would have been smaller). At 21 minutes, near the end of the 22 minute segment on the Ground Zero Flag, a US flag-styled purse is shown "patriotically" at the WTC memorial but is another violation of the flag protocols. A Rewards-for-Tips pitch is made repeatedly throughout the 1 hour program that continues with a segment on the heist of Pres. Truman's sword and dagger collection worth millions, Meltzer's Top 10 List of the most wanted Lost or Stolen Artifacts from history, then ends with a segment on a machine gun that had been stolen by John Dillinger and was recently found.
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#1. To: GreyLmist (#0)
I believe defacing a US flag is a crime. Which makes the act quite fitting, I suppose.
Which makes the act quite fitting, I suppose. Not so long ago, those pretentious cads could have been prosecuted Federally for defacing the flag by putting their "autographs" on it at Yankee Stadium like it was a baseball: United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10 - usflag.org This code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. It does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag. That is left to the states and to the federal government for the District of Columbia. Each state has its own flag law. Criminal penalties for certain acts of desecration to the flag were contained in Title 18 of the United States Code prior to 1989. The Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson; June 21, 1989, held the statute unconstitutional. This statute was amended when the Flag Protection Act of 1989 (Oct. 28, 1989) imposed a fine and/or up to I year in prison for knowingly mutilating, defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor or trampling upon any flag of the United States. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was struck down by the Supreme Court decision, United States vs. Eichman, decided on June 11, 1990. The signature-graffiti of New York's "glitterati" along the white edge of the flag can be seen at 15 minutes into Brad Meltzer's Lost History: The Ground Zero Flag program on the History Channel/H2. Will post an online link for that when I can locate it again. ------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
The Ground Zero Flag Full Episode - Brad Meltzer's Lost History - HISTORY.com -- official site, probably only viewable there for a fee but might still be available on cable/satelite TV at a channel archive for free or on a pay-per-view basis. This 1.5 minute promo vid at YouTube doesn't show any of their autographing defacements of the flag but it is shown at 30 seconds going down into the rubble. Also, battered flag symbolism is shown in the first few seconds where red and white bars/stripes can be seen on a downward slant towards the feet of the alleged firefighter on the right in the "iconic Iwo Jima-like flag raising" pic: Brad Meltzer's Lost History The Ground Zero Flag (S1, E1) ------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
The tragedy of 9-11 has only been made a worse tragedy by the tons of superfluous nonsense circulating in the media that has nothing to do with getting to the bottom of the conspiracy to wreck our country. 9-11 had to be carried out by knowing and willing conspirators that have since enlisted the media to assist in blurring the lines between conspiracy to commit murder, treason of the most dangerous sort, an actual coup d etat, and the truth of what the U.S. Govt knew about what actually occurred.
"I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.". Étienne de La Boétie
"Every evening Hiram Moses Goldstein comes home from his corner pawnshop store and impatiently waits for sunset. As the daylight fades Hiram draws the curtains over the windows and retreats to his study. There, he pulls back a curtain on a wall and gloats at the authentic 9/11 flag on his wall. He spends the rest of his evening sipping warm tea and ponders his great treasure with a cold gleam in his eyes...." the flag was signed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and other top officials,
#2. To: Pinguinite (#1)
the flag was signed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and other top officials, I believe defacing a US flag is a crime.
It was not until June 22, 1942 that Congress passed a joint resolution which was amended on December 22, 1942 to become Public Law 829; Chapter 806, 77th Congress, 2nd session. Exact rules for use and display of the flag (36 U.S.C. 173-178) as well as associated sections (36 U.S.C. 171) Conduct during Playing of the National Anthem, (36 U.S.C. 172) the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and Manner of Delivery were included.
#3. To: All (#2)
The signature-graffiti of New York's "glitterati" along the white edge of the flag can be seen at 15 minutes into Brad Meltzer's Lost History: The Ground Zero Flag program on the History Channel/H2. Will post an online link for that when I can locate it again.
#4. To: All (#0)
#5. To: GreyLmist, All (#0)
Where'd the flag go?
-Alex Kurtagic
#6. To: Pinguinite (#2) (Edited)
You: I believe defacing a US flag is a crime. Which makes the act quite fitting, I suppose. Didn't notice until I got back that the quote section at #2 was out of sorts. Sorry about that. Am correcting it now because your astute observation of a US flag being wantonly defaced by those self-aggrandizing "signatory" vandals can't be overemphasized, imo. Edited for spelling. Article: the flag was signed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and other top officials,
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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
#7. To: X-15 (#5)
"Every evening Hiram Moses Goldstein comes home from his corner pawnshop store and impatiently waits for sunset. As the daylight fades Hiram draws the curtains over the windows and retreats to his study. There, he pulls back a curtain on a wall and gloats at the authentic 9/11 flag on his wall. He spends the rest of his evening sipping warm tea and ponders his great treasure with a cold gleam in his eyes...." Plausibly intriguing but how did it get there? From the alleged fireman who used it for a staged photo-op prop of Pacific War imagery after he reportedly stole it from a yacht? That would be my first guess. And where did he go after pawning it for some fast cash? Brad Meltzer might know. He wrote a book called "The Inner Circle". Where'd the flag go?
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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
#8. To: All (#0)
In this 18-minute chatter, he again stretches a 3x5 flag into the illusion of a shrouded 9/11 WTC victim: Elliot In The Morning: Brad Meltzer - YouTube -- Link set to start at 6:15 ..."But the crazy part of the story is, it could just as easily be covering a body that was at Ground Zero."... At 19 minutes, a picture is shown of a large flag, said to be covering the body of a deceased First Responder being lifted into an ambulance. Meltzer suggested that's an intriguing theory of what happened to the missing Ground Zero flag (even though the 3x5 flag stolen from the yacht by McWilliams would have been smaller).
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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
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