Today’s post is written by Onaona Guay, a processing archivist in College Park.
Banners and flags comprise a good portion of the September 11 Recovery Program records. Some are handmade and some are signed. One particular United States flag was recovered from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after the horrific bombing on April 19, 1995 that took more than 160 lives. It was presented to US Marine Corps Master Sergeant Paul Cooper, who was rescued from the sixth floor that day. In a gesture of solidarity as a “fellow terrorist survivor”, Cooper sent the flag to the Red Cross accompanied by this letter addressed to the people of New York City and Washington:
