Throughout our history the American flag has often been the enduring image when we have a pressing, catastrophic or historic event.

The most iconic symbol of the U.S. Marines is photographer Joe Rosenthal’s photo depicting six soldiers raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Thomas Franklin, a photographer for the Record in Bergen County, New Jersey, took the dramatic picture of three firefighters raising the flag amid the rubble at ground zero in Manhattan.

Sept. 11 is now called Patriot Day in honor of those who lost their lives. This year, President Donald Trump remembered it as a day of horror and anguish when radical Islamist terrorists carried out an unprecedented attack on our homeland.

“On Patriot Day, we honor the memories of the nearly 3,000 precious lives we lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and of every hero who has given their life since that day to protect our safety and our freedom,” the president stated last week. “We come together today to recall this timeless truth: When America is united, no force on Earth can break us apart. Our values endure; our people thrive; our nation prevails; and the memory of our loved ones never fades.”

In today’s digital age, images are flashed to the world in seconds, and last week we saw several American symbols that inspired us.

Minnesota fire chief Jerry Streich took a video during a 9/11 tribute that captured thousands of views after it went viral.

Firefighters from different departments in the Minneapolis suburbs were at the event to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the terror attacks. One scene showed a banner draped over an overpass railing that said “We will never forget.”

But the focus of Streich’s Facebook video — an extraordinary image that could qualify for a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not — was a wild bald eagle, our national bird. While Streich focused on an aerial firetruck which was helping to hold the American flag, an eagle flew in and perched itself on the edge of a basket on the extended ladder.

The eagle remained for almost a minute, then flew off.

Streich called the event “phenomenal,” adding that it doesn’t get much more symbolic than that.

As Hurricane Florence approached the North Carolina coast last Thursday, we were provided with an unforgettable image that offered a beacon of hope for those in the path of the powerful storm. Off the coast of Cape Fear, a live web camera captured a flag, in shreds but still flying, at Frying Pan Tower, which was previously used by the Coast Guard and is now a bed-and-breakfast.

Over the past year we’ve seen other flags being rescued or protected during storms.

When Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast last year, Weather Channel meteorologist Paul Goodloe found an American flag in a pile of storm debris and took time to carefully fold it while reporting at the scene.

During a rainstorm in Deer Park, Texas, last July 4, Anthony Rodriguez rescued a flag that had fallen. What made this especially noteworthy is that Rodriguez is a Marine veteran who served on active duty in Iraq for five years. His service career ended when a suicide bombing attack left him seriously injured.

His fiancee, Jessica Giese, took the pictures from the car and posted them on Facebook along with a message: “Be proud of who you are, be proud of America, be proud of your flag that flies high and strong, because of people like him.”

Last month, two Army sergeants were seen protecting an American flag during an intense storm in Michigan. After severe weather had knocked the flagpole to the ground, the two soldiers braved high winds, lightning and hail to recover the colors.

“Everything we stand for, the freedoms that we have, we carry it on our shoulders everyday,” said Sgt. Jared Ferguson of the significance of the flag patch on his uniform.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com