Isn't this the great quandary for museums? I had a professor in undergrad
who made us all read Alice Walker's short story "The Quilt" to balance
between need and preserving.

For the flag burning, it depends on how law-abiding and flexible the people
handling the flag are. And what the community needs.

The US Code states " The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no
longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way,
preferably by burning."
The question is if being used as a memorial is considered "display." Clearly
the code means display as in patriotic flying, not museum display. But alot
of museums have flags, many of which have touched the ground or done
something else which desecrates it. Even the Star Spangled Banner at the
Smithsonian falls into this list. Does a local historical society or other
such group want to step forward for such an artifact? But obviously the
American Legion already considered that issue (I am sure this is a question
that was debated at the National Headquarters and the national American
Legion museum) and decided that burning is what needs to be done. Veterans
and military groups feel very strongly about protecting the laws of the
flag. Perhaps the burning will help the residents of the community heal.

There are going to be alot of pieces of the WTC coming out, possibly for use
as museum artifacts or memorial parts. EBay removed all WTC related
materials to discourage profiting from the tragedy (although I just went to
eBay and noticed things were back). What about a personal artifact that
shows the force of the explosion? Pieces of furniture twisted on impact? Can
we save everything and what should we save? What is needed to be saved and
what will hurt people to see, and is that a consideration in the saving?
Especially in the NY area, museums are going to begin to be besieged with
people wanting to donate things connected in some way to the tragedy. We've
trained the public well to save and donate, but what do we do? Has any
museum addressed this yet?


The great quandary...




> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lynne Ranieri [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 11:58 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: WTC artifact to be burned
>
>
>    A resident of our northern NJ town just called, in response to an
> article in the local paper, about an event to take place this Saturday
> (i.e., in two days), in a nearby community.  Apparently an
> American flag
> was discovered among the debris from the World Trade Center, after it
> had been transported to Staten Island.  According to the article, "It
> was presented to federal authorities who released it after it
> determining that it had no value as criminal evidence in the attack on
> the buildings."  The article conjectures that the nylon flag "...most
> likely came from an office high in one of the Twin Towers...because it
> was discovered amid debris near the top of the wreckage."
>    The touching image of the flag in the photo that accompanies the
> article shows the approximately two-foot by four-foot flag
> with tatters,
> tears and scorch marks.  That is not the worst that it will have
> suffered, though, as it is apparently scheduled to be "retired" this
> Saturday, when the local American Legion Post will see it "succumb to
> flames in a formal retirement ceremony", because they apparently feel
> "...it needs a proper burial."
>    The resident feels that this is a dramatic artifact of the
> event and
> is anxious to see it spared the ignominious fate.  Can anyone on this
> list suggest a place that would also be interested in seeing it spared
> this "memorialization" and can, perhaps, intervene?  I can scan and
> e-mail the article to any interested parties.
>    Thank you
> Lynne
>
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