The story behind the firefighters’ flag-raising at Ground Zero | The Excerpt

On the Friday, September 11, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: Thomas E. Franklin, former Bergen Record photographer, takes listeners inside the chaos and uncertainty of September 11, 2001. Speaking with Mike Kelly, a columnist for The Record in New Jersey and USA TODAY, he recalls navigating Ground Zero, documenting the aftermath of the attacks, and capturing the firefighter flag-raising image that came to symbolize resilience, patriotism, and remembrance.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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The photographs of the 9/11 attacks are still seared in our memories 25 years later. There's a picture of a plane smashing into the towers. There's a picture of a firefighter rescuing a man out of the rubble, a picture of a stockbroker covered in ash. But one picture stands out over these years and still resonates with us today. And that's a picture of three firefighters, their faces streaked in sweat, their uniforms dusty, they're…

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