PM collects New Zealand flag found in twin tower ruins

By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor

NEW YORK - Leaning on the railing, you suddenly notice that words have been etched in the woodwork.

Right under your nose, scratched in ballpoint, are the messages to loved ones.

Your eyes dart away from the mechanical diggers clawing at the rubble of the World Trade Centre in New York. And you begin reading.

"Lenny: I love you. I miss you."

"Damien: Love Mom and Dad."

And on and on they go, all along the railing of the special Ground Zero viewing platform reserved for the families of those killed when the twin towers collapsed on September 11.

And suddenly there's a lump in your throat.

A lot of lumps welled up in throats today as Prime Minister Helen Clark laid a wreath on the platform before walking to a nearby memorial on the Hudson River, where she was given a New Zealand flag found in the ruins of the towers.

Eyes awash, Helen Clark came close to sobbing as she thanked the two New York police officers who uncovered the ensign.

The Prime Minister's escorting party were warned that their presence could cause "potential hostility" from "fragile and emotional" workers at the site, and from the families of the dead.

The short but highly charged ceremony ended with the waiata Whakaria Mai [How Great Thou Art] sung by Simon O'Neill, an Auckland opera singer now living in New York.

Then the two officers from the New York Police Department, Greg Matthius and James Moran, told their story.

They were raking through debris that a tractor had lifted when they saw a bit of blue fabric.

Fearing it was one of their colleagues in uniform, they started digging by hand.

But the cloth turned out to be a dirty and torn flag.

They took it back to their station and cleaned it, then gave it to the New Zealand consulate in New York.

The officers spoke of their pride in being able to hand back the flag because Americans treat their own Stars and Stripes with such respect.

The ensign, which will be hung in Parliament Buildings in Wellington, had been kept in storage in the B-5 level of the World Trade Centre complex, about 20m underground, and had been maintained by Edward Strauss, a Port Authority supervisor. He was killed when the towers came down.

For those still toiling at Ground Zero, it is a question of how to cope day to day.

"To be honest, I haven't figured it out," said Officer Matthius.

And what should replace the gap in the skyline?

The two policemen did not know.

On another blue-sky day in New York like the one six months ago, there were still plenty of questions without answers.