The (Missing) Flag

CNN tonight with doc on the wild story of the iconic American flag raised over Ground Zero in NYC on 9/11 by three firemen, the act captured by a newspaper photog and turned into perhaps THE iconic symbol of that day.  One problem: The flag seems to have gone missing.  This is not news, but it has never been explored at this length, and it's done by good guy David Friend of Vanity Fair.

You may recall that the flag was supposedly sent to sea with various ships that would bomb Afghanistan, and unwrapped at ballparks and at other ceremonies,  but it should have been clear from the start that this was not the same flag--it was roughly twice as big.  So what happened to the actual flag?  The CNN doc doesn't really find out but it does explore many interesting theories.  It's well worth a look--although to my taste a bit padded--and see NYT praise here today. 

One thing the doc brings back--that classic episode where an official sculpture was made of the moment with the three actual firemen replaced by a PC crew featuring a black and a Latino....It was shelved after an uproar. 

David Friend has a new ebook out based on this story.