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Ground Zero star-spangled banner to wave over Olympics

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A U.S. flag that survived the September World Trade Center attack was raised during pregame ceremonies at Super Bowl XXXVI.  


SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- An honor guard made up of athletes, firefighters and police officers will present a torn American flag, which had been discovered in the ruins at Ground Zero, during the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics on Friday.

The decision to raise the Ground Zero flag to the tune of the U.S. National Anthem -- reached by the U.S. and International Olympic Committees and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee -- was announced at a news conference Wednesday.

The flag will fly in the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium for the duration of the Games.

The exact makeup of the honor guard has not yet been decided, but it will include one or more athletes, police officers and firefighters and possibly others, officials said.

The flag was the only American flag flying at the World Trade Center the morning of September 11, when two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers 18 minutes apart. The buildings later collapsed and nearly 3,000 people were killed.

"The Olympic movement around the world has expressed its sympathy for the victims of September 11th in many ways since that tragic day," said Anita DeFrantz, an IOC member from the United States. "Showing the flag this respect is just one more way."

The IOC statement alluded to a controversy earlier this week in which members of the U.S. Olympic team wanted to carry the flag during the parade of athletes, when the teams enter the stadium for the first time.

"While some parts of the Opening Ceremony change to reflect the culture of the host city, the procession of athletes is a part of the universal Olympic protocol that has essentially remained unchanged in the modern Olympic era."

DeFrantz said hoisting the banner above the stadium was the best way to honor both the flag and Olympic protocol.

An estimated 3.5 billion people around the world are expected to watch the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on television, according to the IOC.

The same flag flew during the World Series last year and was displayed this month at the Super Bowl, during the playing of the National Anthem.

The flag was buried for three days after the terrorist attacks. When it was recovered, it had two large tears along the red and white stripes and was turned over to a National Guard colonel for its ceremonial destruction.

A label on the flag showed it was Port Authority property, so the colonel gave it to the Port Authority Police Department.

Several members of the Port Authority Police Department became its caretakers, taking the flag to dozens of memorial services for their fallen colleagues, according to the Port Authority Web site. The flag also flew at the New York City Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day parades.



 
 
 
 





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