A few years ago, American Legion Post 18 member, Paul Stern and his wife Karen felt a deep-seated need to honor those veterans, who gave the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for our freedom. Stern decided to build flag cases that could be used to house the American flag presented to the families of each deceased war casualty from one of the recent conflicts.
After a short period of time doing this alone, local and national media were drawn to Stern's small workshop and from that point on, donations of money, wood, glass, and tools began pouring in. Since the first flag case was delivered to the first casualty of Operation Enduring Freedom, more than 320 cases have been delivered to families in 47 states. The cases were free of charge. Over time, however, the donations dwindled. In order to help Stern with the shipping and handling of each case, one of his cases was recently raffled off at The American Legion Mid-Winter Conference in Morgantown, W.Va. The American Legion family raised $325 to help Stern with the shipping costs for the cases.
Another case will be made available this summer at the Department Convention to be held in Charleston, WV. If you would like to make a donation towards Stern's project, you can send it directly to Paul Stern at Routes Box 609 Cameron, W.Va 26033.
Comments (1)
What a wonderful and unselfish idea.
As a Putnam County Veterans Service Commissioner in Ohio we give a Flag Case to all dependents of Veterans who have died. This gives our County Veterans Service Officer an oppotunity to explain to the spouses,etc., what benefits they are entitled to, when they pick the flag cases up.
Posted by Mike Morman | 05/28/07 1:33 PM |