Flag flown to honor the men and women who serve America
By CHRIS WAGONER
August 20. 2006 6:01AM

The other day I held a flag that made me cry.

Let me try to explain.I had the chance to talk with a former student of mine (from the police academy) who just got back within the last week or so from Iraq/Afghanistan, where he served in the U.S. Army. He served in Task Force Phoenix, at Base Blackhorse in Afghanistan for almost two years.

We talked of his service time, how he felt about being home and how great it was to be back in the United States and what he looked forward to now that he was settling in a bit.

We talked of his lovely wife, who I helped get his paperwork together to submit for a job. He is in the process of being hired as a deputy sheriff in our county. A really squared away young man, he will do a great job. Then he did me in.

I saw him carry a small bag in when he walked into my office, but I really figured it was paperwork and stuff for his testing he was doing in the hiring process here at the academy. But he reached in a pulled out an American flag...