AP PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS PUBLICLY DISTRIBUTED HANDOUT PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALABAMA DEPT. OF LABOR. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
This Sept. 11, 2001 photo provided by Alabama Dept. of Labor, a flower arrangement is left at the New York flag on the Avenue of Flags at the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery. A 10-year-old secret has been revealed. Just hours after terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, a large red, white and blue flower arrangement appeared at the base of a New York state flag on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery. Tied to the flag pole was a red, white and blue ribbon. The flower arrangement was placed in front of the flag pole by then-Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett and then-deputy Secretary of State David Azbell. Azbell, now a political consultant in Montgomery, first revealed the secret on Sunday when he posted on his Facebook page that he and Bennett bought the flowers and quietly placed them in front of the New York state flag. (AP Photo/Alabama Dept. of Labor, Jim Bennett)