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To say the tragic events of September 11th have inspired numerous acts of courage is an understatement. One of the groups of people on the front lines that day were the firefighters.

In the midst of terror and confusion, three firefighters took the time to hoist up an American flag. An alert journalist was there, as they usually are, to capture the timeless moment.

Now, the Fire Department of New York wants to honor all the firefighters that went into danger on that fateful day. Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Or is there?

This spring the Fire Department's Brooklyn headquarters is expected to put up a $180,000 sculpture depicting the three firefighters who put up the American flag among the sea of rubble. The picture is often paralleled with the Marines raising the US flag over Iwo Jima in World War Two.

The controversial aspect is that while the three firefighters in the picture were all white, the Department plans to portray the statue with one white firefighter, one black firefighter and one Hispanic firefighter. Some say it's an attempt to rewrite history, others say it's the only way to honor all 343 heroes who perished that day.

This attempt to distort a picture that will live in the hearts of Americans will not stand.

On that day when everything changed, nothing mattered. The only thing that mattered was saving lives. As Tony Marden, a firefighter based in Queens said, "It's not a racial thing. That shouldn't even be an issue."

First of all, to change the race of these men does not represent the best of America. It shows that all we care about is, in the words of one person, "who did what and what color they were."

It shows this country is preoccupied to make every single person happy and make no one offended at the expense of accuracy.

Those who support the statue may say that they wish to represent everyone, but the truth is race is not the way to do it. Bill Kelly, the attorney of the three firefighters in the photograph stated, "Moments such as this should not be used to make political statements."

The people who are for the statue may state that the statue better shows all the people that were in the rescue effort that day. The fact is race is not what motivated these people to give up their lives for someone else.

We are missing the point if that statue goes up the way it is.
Of the 343 firefighters who died that day, 12 were black and 12 were Hispanic.

Supporters point out that it would be unusual that the sacrifices of a multiethnic department would only be represented by white men. They're missing the big point.

We need to focus on why they did what they did. As the Washington Post's Donna Britt wrote, "It's the Actions, Not the Actors, We Will Remember."

After the terrorist attacks, we heard countless stories of people who performed selfless acts of courage. Selfless. Nobody put
into consideration who they were or who they were helping.

America became one that day.

Essay author Allen Huang, age 14 is an outstanding student at Pioneer Middle School, in Orange County, California.

Allen's essay was first published in the March 28 issue of California Junior Scholarship Federation, Vol. I Edition I.

Students at Tustin High School and at one of Pioneer Middle School's Social Study Classes used the essay as the subject of a debate forum on April 27, 2002.