World Trade Centre flag unveiled in Parliament

30 Apr, 2002 03:55 AM2 mins to read

5.00pm

A tattered New Zealand flag found in the rubble of the World Trade Centre was unveiled in Parliament today by Prime Minister Helen Clark and United States ambassador Charles Swindells.

Shredded in one corner, battered and worn, the flag will hang on a stairwell of Parliament's first floor foyer.

The site was chosen by Speaker Jonathan Hunt because 100,000 tourists passed it each year.

It had been stored in the World Trade Centre flag room until the complex was destroyed by terrorist attacks on September 11 last year.

Mr Swindells told onlookers the flag was a symbol of the close ties between the US and New Zealand.

"I don't think there are two countries that have a history of standing together in conflict as the United States and New Zealand," he said.

"This is a defining moment, not only of the past close relationship, but of the even closer relationship of our two countries for generations to come."

People in the United States would appreciate the gesture "from the bottom of their hearts".

Miss Clark said the flag was dedicated to the heroism of New York police and fire workers "who on that terrible day rushed to help, and never came out".

"It's very moving to go to Ground Zero and see there all the messages to their loved ones who were lost that day."

The flag was found this year by New York police officers Greg Matthius and James Moran as they picked through the debris of the gigantic twin towers.

At first they believed it was the uniform of another one of their fallen colleagues and they began slowly digging by hand.

Last month the flag was handed over to Miss Clark in an emotional ceremony in New York, where she was clearly moved by September 11's tales of horror.

"The displaying of the flag in our Parliament will serve as a permanent reminder of the heroic actions of those who died trying to save others," she said.

Police Commissioner Rob Robinson and Fire Service regional commander Owen Kinsella attended the unveiling.

- NZPA

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