Keeper of the Flame
NYC, 1990 1
Keeper of the Flame, Manhattan NY, 1990. With all the conversation of this election, I wanted to share a story in the spirit of unity: the story of the Keeper of the Flame. A magazine called asking if I’d be interested in shooting this guy whose only job was to ensure that the flame of the Statue of Liberty stayed lit—that was his whole gig. He was a Vietnam vet, came back from his service, and got this job. He treated it with such passion—it was like Lady Liberty was his mother. He was a little bit wounded, but he was a gentle, sweet man, and preserving the flame meant everything to him.
My first thought was, well, if we’re shooting the flame, we’re going to need to get to that flame...we need a helicopter. When I called him with that idea, he told me there was no way his bosses would let him do this story. He paused…and then he said, “So here’s what I’ll do. I’ll stay on the island, sleep there that night. You come at sunrise in the helicopter. I’ll be standing on top of the flame, and we’ll shoot.” At this point I’m like, okay, there’s no way this is happening—but I loved his passion—so I rented the helicopter.
In the middle of the night, my crew and I went out to Teterboro airport, took the door off the helicopter, and made our way to Liberty Island. The sun starts coming up, and over the sound of propellers I hear the pilot go, “Holy shit!” I look to my left, and this guy is standing up there, on top of the Statue of Liberty, waving an American flag. We flew around and around, I’m hanging out the door—my assistants were literally holding my belt to keep me in—and I’m shooting these pictures.
We kept circling until he saw the first boat coming with the rest of the staff—he waved us away. By then, the sun was fully up. We flew away, landed the helicopter. I drove into the city, and got on a boat over to the island. That was the first time I really met him—guiding me up the arm, this little ladder, creaking, hanging over the harbor. That’s how I got the other shots. He was so sweet, and so sincere. The piece made him famous. He became known for the job he loved so much—his patriotic duty that he performed with intense responsibility—the Keeper of the Flame.
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