Ever Wonder What Happened to the 9/11 Flag? Truth is Stranger than Fiction

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If you recall, the flag behind this iconic photo of three firefighters from 9/11 disappeared shortly after the photo was taken. What happened to it?  Was its disappearance caused by coincidence or theft?  Truth is truly stranger than fiction.  We have the flag back, but we are no closer to knowing the truth of its strange journey, ending in Everett, Washington. 

As reported to the New York Times and the Washington Post, in 2014, a man who called himself “Brian” entered an Everett fire station.   “Brian” introduced himself as a Marine veteran who had been deployed to the Middle East. He told the firefighters that a widow of 9/11 gave the flag to a worker from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The worker, in turn, gave the flag to him.  Recognizing the flag as the missing flag from Ground Zero, “Brian,” decided to give it  to the Everett firefighters; he then left. 

No one knows who “Brian” really is.  Everett police have so far been unsuccessful in trying to find the mysterious man, but a composite sketch of the man based on descriptions from firefighters has been released in the hopes that somebody can identify him.  The flag is now on display at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Manhattan.