A Factual Account of the Forensic Authentication of the Missing 9/11 "Ground Zero" American Flag
THE MICROSCOPE
2025, Volume 72:3, pp. 99–109
DOI
https://doi.org/10.59082/RPBZ5593
AUTHOR
Nicholas Petraco, Nicholas D.K. Petraco, Peter Shenkin, Thomas A. Kubic, Peter Diaczuk, Anthony Carpi, and Lawrence Kobilinsky
ABSTRACT
Presented here are the actual events surrounding the authentication of the missing, original World Trade Center (WTC) 9/11 “Ground Zero” American flag raised by three New York City Fire Department (FDNY) firemen on that horrific day. A patriotic rally and signing of what was believed to be the actual raised flag, was held at Yankee Stadium 12 days after the attack. Following the rally, the flag was sent around the globe on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Upon its return to New York City, in April 2002, the flag’s original owners discovered it was not the flag taken from their yacht. After a decade long search for their missing flag, CNN aired a show on their History Mystery program on September 13, 2013 entitled: “What Became of the Ground Zero Flag?” On October 31, 2014, the History Channel aired an episode on Brad Meltzer’s Lost History Season 1 Episode 1, entitled: “The Ground Zero Flag.” A few days later, an unknown former Marine presented a small flag to a firefighter working in Station Firehouse 1 in Everett, City, WA, thus starting a 23-month long investigation by the Everett Police Department. Two seasoned Everett police department detectives were assigned to the investigation.
The detectives promptly began their investigation on November 4, 2014. In June 2015, after the Everett Police Investigators finally realized that they could only report that the questioned flag (Q-Flag) left at Fire Station No. 1 ”could be” the missing 9/11 flag, the investigators finally sent DNA specimens to New York University for DNA analysis, and dust specimens from the Q-flag and halyard to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, for a comprehensive forensic analysis and comparison to an extensive collection of known “Ground Zero-WTC 9/11” dust specimens.
The detectives promptly began their investigation on November 4, 2014. In June 2015, after the Everett Police Investigators finally realized that they could only report that the questioned flag (Q-Flag) left at Fire Station No. 1 ”could be” the missing 9/11 flag, the investigators finally sent DNA specimens to New York University for DNA analysis, and dust specimens from the Q-flag and halyard to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, for a comprehensive forensic analysis and comparison to an extensive collection of known “Ground Zero-WTC 9/11” dust specimens.
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