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  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2002
PR-068-02
www.nyc.gov


MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ATTENDS
FLAG RAISING CEREMONY IN CITY HALL PLAZA
FOR WORLD TRADE CENTER FLAG


Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today attended a ceremony in which the flag that flew over the World Trade Center site in the days after the attack was raised in City Hall Plaza. The three New York Fire Department firefighters, George Johnson, William Eisengrein and Daniel McWilliams, who were immortalized in a photograph taken by Tom Franklin of the New Jersey Bergen County Record, also participated in the ceremony.

"The image of this flag being raised by three of New York's Bravest in the midst of the ruins of the World Trade Center told the world that terrorists cannot destroy the fabric of our democracy and that freedom and hope will always prevail, even in the face of unspeakable evil," Mayor Bloomberg said. "This cherished flag represents the courage and resilience New Yorkers have shown in the challenging time following that savage attack. It is an inspiration to see it raised over City Hall Plaza as young Americans risk their lives overseas to defend our way of life."

During the ceremony, Police Officer Kevin Reynolds presented a Police Department Flag to Commissioner Kelly and Firefighter Daniel McWilliams presented a flag bearing the Fire Department insignia to Commissioner Scoppetta. Next, the World Trade Center flag was raised by two members of an Honor Guard comprised of uniformed officers from the Police Department, Fire Department and the Port Authority while two NYPD officers performed the National Anthem with trumpets. After a moment of silence, "America the Beautiful" was performed by an NYPD officer with bagpipes and the ceremony was concluded.

The American flag, which has been signed by Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, was recently brought back to New York City by Michael Handy, Director of the Mayor's Office for Veterans' Affairs. He accepted it on the City's behalf last week aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the naval aircraft carrier which flew the flag while deployed in the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea for Operation Enduring Freedom.

The flag will fly in City Hall Plaza for a week when it will then be taken down and displayed in various locations throughout the City at locations to be announced in the near future.

www.nyc.gov

Contact: Ed Skyler/Lark-Marie Anton
(212) 788-2958