Brad Meltzer, who found the missing 9/11 flag, says son will 'win homework' when he sees essay prompt

The American flag that was raised by firefighters at the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, is displayed for the first time at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York after turning up in Washington state. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The American flag that was raised by firefighters at the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, is displayed for the first time at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York after turning up in Washington state. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The tragedies that occurred on Sept. 11 took place 17 years ago, but for many, the pain that the terrorist attacks inflicted is still as fresh as it was in 2001. People who lived through the attacks can remember precisely where they were when they heard the news that four planes had been hijacked, with two planes flown into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, one flown into the Pentagon, and one crashing into a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers bravely confronted the hijackers.

It is hard to believe that the attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 people, happened before current high school students were alive. And now, to educate students on such an essential part of American history, teachers assign projects like the essay assigned to author and TV presenter Brad Meltzer’s son.

The essay’s theme is about the return of the iconic flag, raised by firefighters at ground zero as a symbol of hope, that was missing for 15 years. Ironically, what the teacher did not know was that Meltzer played a crucial part in the flag’s return to New York City. It has been put on display at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Using his show, Brad Meltzer’s Lost History, he asked Americans for help returning the flag in the episode that aired Oct. 31, 2014. Just four days later, a former Marine and flag collector named Brian Browne, who was keeping the flag in a storage trunk in the freezer of his home, brought it to a fire station in Everett, Wash.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Brad Meltzer’s representatives but did not immediately hear back. He is, we assume, occupied with helping his son write a great essay.

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