Returning a fallen Marine's legacy: Man finds signed American flag for $5 at flea market and returns it to family
By RoseKiss
Flea markets can be a treasure trove of surprises. Sometimes you may leave empty-handed, but on other occasions, you may strike gold, as the saying goes.
During a visit to a flea market in Hemphill, Texas, in 2014, Walter Brown and his wife Lanie stumbled upon a unique American flag.
Lanie recounted to TODAY, "The first room we walked into had a pile of American flags. My husband began going through them and exclaimed, 'Lanie, come here. Look at this one. It's got writing on it.'"
The couple, who have family members serving in the Marines, discovered that the flag was covered in handwritten messages all over the stripes.
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“We’ll always remember the sacrifice you made. God Bless,” someone wrote.
“I promise we will see each other again,” another wrote.
While all the other flags were priced between $15 and $30, this particular flag didn’t have a price.
If they asked us for $100 we would have given them a $100 bill. It was priceless to us because we knew it meant something,” Lanie said.
But the seller only wanted $5, so they took it and brought it home.
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When the couple brought it home their son realized the $5 flag was really priceless.
It was a tribute flag signed by a fallen Marine’s platoon members, and for some reason it wasn’t with that Marine’s family, where it belonged.
The Brown family was able to determine the flag belonged to Lance Cpl. Fred Maciel who died in a helicopter crash in Iraq in January 2005.
Brown’s children found Fred’s mother on Facebook and sent her a message. She contacted the Brown family immediately and the two talked on the phone for an hour and arranged to meet at her son’s grave outside of Houston.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=136609576370899&set=a.132271110138079&type=3
The two families, along with dozens of others, met at Fred’s gravesite and the Brown family handed over the signed flag.
For Patsy Maciel, the moment gave her “this feeling of peace.”
Only weeks before she admitted to her sister that she was starting to forget what her son looked like, but now she believed this was a sign from him telling her she won’t ever forget.
In an emotional interview with CBS News, Patsy shared, "His dream was to become a Marine, and I had to let him pursue it. I'm proud of him for passing away while doing what he loved."
Reading this has brought tears to my eyes. I am grateful that Patsy has been reunited with her son's flag after almost a decade. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the Brown family for discovering the flag and returning it to its rightful owner.
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