50 Star U.S. Flag, The South Tower Flag, World Trade Center, NY 9/11/01.
On September 18th, 2001, a volunteer with the Fire Department New York (FDNY) during the recovery phase of the clean-up at the World Trade Center. While sifting through the rubble of the "twin towers" there, The fireman discovered what he thought were fragments of clothing from one of the victims of the September 11th terrorist attack. As he dug further, he realized he had found the smoldering remains of 2.5 feet by 5 feet United States flag. From the amount of office equipment found in the same area, it was speculated that the flag uncovered had decorated one of the offices of the Center.

The fires threatening the flag were extinguished and the flag was unearthed and the fireman attempted to turn the flag over to a Engine Company of the FDNY, but members of that company agreed that it should belong to the finder in appreciation for his voluntary efforts, at his own expense, to assist in the recovery effort. The flag traveled back to home and remained in his possession until its exhibition at Disney's Epcot Center in 2002 and its subsequent acquisition by the Zaricor Flag Collection.

Flags were among the 9/11 artifacts retrieved. Most recovered flags went to public institutions, including the Smithsonian, the New York State Museum, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It is estimated that hundreds of flags had been in World Trade Center buildings, due both to the large number of government offices there and the American tradition of flag ownership by private individuals.

Like other traumatic events in American history, 9/11 stimulated spontaneous and widespread flag display across the nation. Any flag associated with the events of 9/11 came to engender great public interest when exhibited, as this one was at Disney's Epcot Center and later at The Presidio of San Francisco in 2003. As a result of this notoriety a counterfeit version of this flag was offered for sale in 2004.

Another post-9/11 flag phenomenon was the emergence of associated flags. Although not recovered from the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, these flags have been associated with the events of 9/11; the most famous among them was the flag hoisted over rubble by New York City firemen who had borrowed it from a nearby yacht anchored along the Hudson River.

Another flag was offered for sale on the Internet, although on 9/11 it had only been displayed at a highway construction site near the Pentagon. This public interest in authentic 9/11 flags mirrors traditional American attachment to historic flag relics in the past.

Exhibition History:

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery VI
(ZFC0911) (Now ZFC3911)
World Trade Center United States Flag, South Tower Flag

University of California - Santa Cruz
Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit
Santa Cruz, CA
7 June 2012

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 138-139.

Provenance:
• In an unidentified office in South Tower, World Trade Center, NY, 11 September 2001.
• David Bliss, 2001.
• EpCot Center, of Disney World, Orlando, Florida, 2002/03.
• Acquired by private treaty by the Zaricor Flag Collection in June 2003.
Deaccessed Heritage Auctions - 13 November 2023 - Auction 6276


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