An American flag that was flown over the World Trade Center ruins after 9/11 and was stolen last week from the front porch of the family of a fallen firefighter has been returned with an apology note.
The flag was returned to Melissa Brengel’s home on New York’s Long Island Thursday with a note that read, “I am so sorry, I had no idea,” an NBC affiliate reported.
The family believes the flag was stolen last Monday or early Tuesday.
“We put it out during certain times of the year just to remember,” Ms. Brengel said of the flag, which was given to her by the September 11th Families Association after it had flown over the World Trade Center ruins, she told the station.
Ms. Brengel’s brother, Jonathan Ielpi, was 29 when he died at the World Trade Center in 2001.
“I don’t think there’s a way [the thief] could have known, but at the same time, they’re coming onto my property and taking something that means so much to me and so many Americans,” Ms. Brengel told the station. “It hurts me and all of them that somebody could do something like this.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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