Flag featured in iconic photo post 9/11 was made in Oak Creek

OAK CREEK (WITI) -- One of the country's most famous flags comes from southeastern Wisconsin! On Wednesday night, September 4th, a CNN documentary is telling the story behind the flag that was hoisted at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.

Like most of us, employees at Eder Flag Manufacturing Company in Oak Creek vividly remember September 11th, 2001.

"It was a somber day at Eder Flag," Jodi Goglio with Eder Flag said.

However, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11 meant the company would be busier.

"We had people on our doorstep, faxing, calling. It was crazy the demand that we had," Goglio said.

They may have known their work would be wanted, but at the time, the Eder employees couldn't have a clue about just how important their work had already been.

Months later, the company's owner, Eugene Eder told his employees about their contribution -- an Eder flag in an iconic photo.

"He told me that from what he's gathered, that it was our flag on that iconic photo, so we were all excited about it," Tony Tsakonas with Eder Flag said.

But Mr. Eder didn't want any publicity for the product he helped put on the pole, and the contribution was kept quiet until Wednesday, September 4th -- when a documentary called "The Flag" is scheduled to air on CNN.

"Everybody's like 'oh, we're gonna be on TV!' They're so excited," an Eder employee told FOX6 News.

Prior to his passing in 2008, Mr. Eder, who insisted the U.S. flag be made in the U.S., got to see his company increase sales yearly, but he declined to discuss the details of his famous flag, allowing the picture to speak its thousand words.

The folks at Eder Flags say even though he didn't like all the acclaim and attention, were Mr. Eder still alive, he would stop on this day and acknowledge the company's place in U.S. history. Then, they say, he'd tell them to get back to work.

While the first flag hoisted at Ground Zero was an Eder flag, at some point, the flag was replaced. The documentary focuses on the search for the original flag, which went missing.