He took the iconic 9/11 flag photo. Then he watched Ground Zero rebuild

Three firefighters stand atop a pile of twisted steel and debris, raising an American flag above the ruins of the World Trade Center. Smoke drifts through the background.

The towers are in rubble behind them. The landscape is gray, scarred and unrecognizable. Bathed in the glow of the late-afternoon light, the firefighters look skyward, squinting into the sun. Their faces are solemn.

I made that photograph on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, about six hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers.

The exposure lasted just 1/640th of a second.

Yet for 25 years, the image has lived on in the hearts and minds of millions and has become part of the visual history of one of the darkest days in American history.

At the time, I wasn't thinking about history. I was doing my job as a photographer for The Record, documenting the unimaginable tragedy. The Record is now part of the USA TODAY Network.

A quarter-century later, the photograph has traveled farther than I ever imagined. It appeared on a U.S. postage stamp that raised more than $10 million for victims of the attacks. It hangs in museums, resides in the Library of Congress, and can be…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/