A Flag Rises From the Ashes of 9/11

By LINDA KRESTANOVA

Surrounded by photographers, a woman stood next to an American flag. The flag was protected by glass, bright beneath lights positioned to highlight its every crease. Posing for the cameras, the woman smiled, nervous but proud.

The woman was Shirley Dreifus and, through tragedy and resilience, the flag that had once been hers has become a nation’s. Lost for over a decade, it found its way home and was unveiled at the 9/11 Memorial Museum on Thursday.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the Star of America, a yacht belonging to Dreifus and her husband, Spiros E. Kopelakis, was docked near the World Trade Center. After the terrorist attack, three firefighters recognized the desperate need for hope, approached the yacht, and borrowed an American flag from its owners. Amidst the rubble and chaos, they raised this flag and, with the help of a photograph taken by Thomas E. Franklin, the image became iconic.

The flag mysteriously disappeared days later, and the unwavering search for it lasted over a decade. When an anonymous individual brought the flag to a first-response agency in Everett, Washington, 3000 miles away from where it had last been seen over 12 years before, the response included an abundance of doubt. Dreifus was one of the many people who aided in confirming that the historic flag had truly been found.

Being a part of the flag’s presentation to the public had bittersweet connotations for Dreifus. She was there in part to honor her husband, who passed away two years ago. He had called the flag the “icon of the century.”

How the flag vanished remains unknown. After its disappearance, Chubb, the insurance company, paid claim to Dreifus for the flag, which, by then, held considerable value. Evan Greenberg, the CEO of Chubb, was one of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s earliest major donors and was also present at the unveiling. The insurance industry was hit hard by the 9/11 attacks, with over 530 employees from several companies perishing in the collapse of the twin towers, and Greenberg expressed pride in being a part of the museum’s search for the flag. “For all of us as Americans, the flag is, in fact, priceless,” he said.

The search for the “hole in the history of the site,” as Joe Daniels, the 9/11 Memorial President, described the lack of the flag, gained traction in part thanks to the HISTORY channel, which aired a show about lost artifacts, the flag being one of them. The host, best-selling author Brad Meltzer, believed that there was no limit to what could be found. “The American people will surprise us,” he had said, calling the TV show “a mission.”

The journey of the flag, including details of the forensic research done to determine its authenticity, has been documented in the first project from the HISTORY Saves History initiative, titled America’s 9/11 Flag: Rise from the Ashes. Produced by Left/Right Productions and hosted by Meltzer, the program will air on Sept. 11 at 10:30 p.m.
“Never underestimate the power of a good story, and a well-told story,” Meltzer said as he looked at the flag and the woman who had donated it to the museum. “This flag is a story that will last forever.”