Flags have historically been used to symbolize important events and personalities like any other cultural artifact.
Some historical flags disappeared along with the people and events they represented, but others survived and even evolved to represent the present.
Other historical flags disappeared and were almost lost forever but reemerged and are now preserved to remind us of significant past events and people.
These are the flags we shall cover today.
1 – The 9/11 Flag
September 11, 2001, is among the darkest days in American history, given the senseless loss of lives and properties due to terrorism.
Determined not to be cowed by the attacks, many Americans and their leaders engaged in activities that demonstrated hope and determination to overcome all adversaries. The political class gave speeches and promised to make all responsible people pay for their actions. Citizens rallied together and showed their patriotism.
Three firemen tasked with recovery showed their love for their country and captured the great American spirit by raising the national flag above the ruins of the World Trade Center.
A few hours after the horrific event, Billy Eisengrein, George Johnson, and Dan McWilliams removed the form of a yacht that had been moored in a Lower Manhattan marina and raised it at the site.
A Record Newspapers photographer called Franklin captured the moment without knowing that his work would soon symbolize America’s emergence from the disaster. The picture was among the many others taken on sight, some showing the disturbing loss of life.
Many magazines and newspapers worldwide decided to use the photo on their front covers, causing it to go viral. The image also turned up aboard military ships and benefit concerts, increasing the flag’s popularity.
Unfortunately, shortly after the picture circulated, someone stole the flag. As a result, the events leading to its disappearance remain a mystery.
Where did it go?
The location of the treasured 9/11 artifact remained unknown for 13 years before it was recovered in Everett, Wash, 3000 miles from Ground Zero.
In 2014, a man went to an Everett fire station with a plastic bag containing the iconic flag. Brian, who introduced himself as a military veteran, told the people at the station that he had watched a documentary about the missing 9/11 flag and noticed that he had it.
He explained that the widow of one of the 9/11 victims gave the flag to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration worker, who later gave it to Brian.
A forensic scientist from Washington state was then called in to investigate the flag’s authenticity. Bill Schneck compared the dust samples on the flag and determined their similarity to those found on the Ground Zero site. Schneck also compared the flag’s material, size, and qualities with high-definition photographs of the event and observed similarities.
The Everett Police unsuccessfully tried locating Brian once they established the flag’s authenticity. They sent out a sketch of the man but are yet to develop any leads.
Where is it now?
The recovered Old Glory flag is now securely stored and displayed at the National September 11th Memorial Museum. The flag is a reminder of one of America’s dark hours and the first responder’s efforts to show America’s endurance, recovery, and rebuilding after the incident. It also honors all those who lost their lives on that fateful day.
2 – Dieppe Flag
Many Canadians view the Dieppe Flag during the National Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The flag was recovered in 1942 at Dieppe beach, hence its name. The iconic flag would have ended up in a landfill, ocean, or grave had it not been rescued.
It would have disappeared forever if an American soldier had not spotted and rescued it.
The weathered and blood-stained flag is a national symbol used to honor those who lost their lives during the Dieppe raid.
Significance of the Dieppe Flag
The flag’s story traces back to August 19th,1942, when 5,000 Canadian soldiers attacked Dieppe, a coastal town owned by the French but occupied by the German army. Soon after the dawn raid, the Canadian forces were besieged by considerable German land and air artillery fire.
Nine hours into the raid, the Germans had captured, wounded, or killed 70% of the Canadian army. The army mostly comprised volunteers.
More than 900 Canadian soldiers, some aged only 16, lost their lives that day.
An American found the red Dieppe flag on one of the soldier’s bodies which had been washed to the beach.
The recovery story does not end there.
The flag disappeared since it remained the personal property of the American soldier who had recovered it.
Many years later, Charles Lowry, an American veteran, stumbled across the flag during a garage sale in his neighborhood. The seller was an American soldier who served as a prisoner of war (POW) guard during the second world war.
One of the POWs he watched over was a German who was a Dieppe grave digger. The German took the flag from the dead Canadian soldier before he buried him.
It was not uncommon for a soldier to go to war while carrying flags. The flags were inspirational reminders of their regiment and country. But unfortunately, the enemy also valued the opposing army’s flags, which they would often take as trophies to remind them of their kills and victories.
Where did it go?
The American soldier took the Dieppe flag from the German POW while hoping to give it back to the Canadian battalion. However, his duty tour ended before he met any Canadians. The flag changed hands to Charles Lowry in 1965 during the garage sale.
The American had considered throwing it away but brought it to the garage sale, hoping it would capture a Canadian’s attention. Charles was a road engineer who interacted with many Canadians while constructing the Alaska highway to Canada.
Charles took the flag and searched different books to locate the regiment that carried it. Unfortunately, Charles died in 1993 before locating the regiment. His son, Mike, continued searching through library books before he got in touch with the British Imperial War Museum.
The museum established its Canadian origins but needed to find out which era the flag belonged. So instead of leaving it at the museum, where it would have likely remained in a drawer, Mike decided to donate it to the Royal Canadian Legion.
The legion used the court of arms symbols to discover that the flag was used as early as the 1870s.
Where is it now?
By the time the flag reached the legion in 2013, it had shown considerable wear. The seawater had damaged its quality and caused its union jack to fade, making it difficult to establish who carried it. But a DNA test on the blood stains may soon unravel this mystery.
3 – USS Reno Flag
The USS Reno Flag vanished from the Reno City Hall in Nevada in May 2020 when a crowd of protestors raided the building, smashed its windows, set some sections on fire, and stole several items, including the World War II Navy Ship’s American Flag.
The protestors were campaigning against police brutality.
The police initially thought that the flag in a display box on the first floor had been reduced to ashes by the Saturday night flames. But many months later, someone sent the flag back to a newsroom with a handwritten note stating that the flag needed protection.
Many US flags were burned during the riots triggered by George Floyd’s disturbing death at the hands of the police.
The sender addressed the mail to Kenzie Margiott, a local news reporter who had published a story on the missing flag. Unfortunately, the flag still had its tag,”85-55-A USS Reno CL-96.”
Margiott initially posted the story about the flag without including her name, fearing backlash from the masses who demonstrated hostility against Reno, the news media she worked for. However, after reading people’s comments about her story, she added her name an hour later.
Many readers were sorry that the flag had disappeared while recollecting stories from their parents and grandparents who had boarded the warship.
Why was it significant?
The USS Reno was an Atlanta-class light cruiser that served as an antiaircraft Oakland-class ship. It was the first navy ship named after Reno City and Lt. Commander Walter Reno.
The ship was constructed in California in 1941, launched on December 23, 1942, and commissioned in December 1943.
The destroyer spent its entire life serving during the Pacific War and was decommissioned on November 4, 1946.
The ship was honored with three battle stars for its exemplary service during World War II.
The US Navy later loaned the flag to Reno City Hall.
Where is it now?
When Margiott opened the package, she found a tattered flag with some blood stains. Reno’s vice mayor was elated by the news of the flag’s return, stating that it gave him faith in humanity.
The man who returned the flag remains unknown but remains displayed in Reno City Hall.
4 – The Indiana Volunteer Regiment
The Indiana Volunteer flag that the 25th Indiana Volunteer soldiers carried to the Vicksburg, Shiloh, and Sherman’s March made it back to its owners in 2007. A decade after it mysteriously vanished from the Indiana War Memorial Museum.
The flag, measuring six feet by six and a half feet, disappeared from the Museum during the mid-1990s
An antique expert sported the flag among other antiques in a liquidated business and contacted the Museum with the news.
The Museum contacted the FBI, which sent 12 agents to join three Department of Justice attorneys to confirm that the flag, valued at $50,000, was in the liquidation sale.
The team confirmed the flag’s identity and arranged for its return to the Indiana museum. The museum is the custodian of many flags belonging to the US government.
It later emerged that the flag was hanging from the ceiling of the First National Bank of Fremont, Waterloo branch. Earl Ford, a former manager at the bank, purchased the bank for $43,250 in 2000.
It looks like all who saw it at the bank did not know that it was the same flag that had gone missing from the Museum a few years earlier. Instead, many who knew about the flag thought that it had disappeared forever.
Where is it now?
A decision is made by the American Heritage Collectors, the bank’s holding firm, to liquidate the antiques. The liquidation is the cause of the flag’s discovery. The FBI established that the bank’s former president had purchased the flag illegally. The flag is the Indiana state property. It should never have been sold.
Luckily, someone saw it and tipped the Museum. Had someone else bought it, the flag would have vanished forever.
Parting Shot
Some of the flags treasured today had almost disappeared, never to be located again. Some were stolen, others almost thrown away, and natural and artificial forces nearly destroyed others. Finally, these flags’ relocations are by sheer luck because someone was at the right place at the right time.
Up Next…
- 19 Different Flags That Use Spiral Designs
- Different Examples of Flags With Diamonds
- The Different Flags That Use Crescent Shapes
The photo featured at the top of this post is © Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons – License / Original
Sources
- National WW2 Museum, Available here: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operation-jubilee-dieppe-raid-1942
- Nav Source, Available here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/096/04096.htm
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Why did the USS Reno Flag disappear?
The USS Reno Flag vanished from the Reno City Hall in Nevada in May 2020 when a crowd of protestors raided the building, smashed its windows, set some sections on fire, and stole several items, including the World War II Navy Ship’s American Flag.
How did they determine the 9/11 flag was authentic?
A forensic scientist from Washington state was then called in to investigate the flag’s authenticity. Bill Schneck compared the dust samples on the flag and determined their similarity to those found on the Ground Zero site. Schneck also compared the flag’s material, size, and qualities with high-definition photographs of the event and observed similarities.Â
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