Purchasing a flag from a mission...?

[murphy55d]

I was reading the "Jocks to GIs" letters on ESPN, and the soldier Mike Modano is paired up with said that you can purchase flags that will be taken along on a mission. I was wondering, is this limited to military personnel over there, or can anyone do this? Anyone know anything about it?

here is what he said in his letter to Modano:

We have a program out here where individuals can purchase and place an American Flag on one of the Military Aircrafts. The location where the flag is going is classified until it returns. Once the flag returns, they create a Certificate that tells you the type of plane and the mission it accomplished. We use this as going away gifts or sending it back home to a school or organization. A way for us to show we appreciate the support we have received from them. The reason I am telling you this is because I placed a Flag on one of these missions for you and the Dallas Stars organization.

It SOUNDS like it might be restricted to military personnel over there, but I just wondered, because I think this is a good idea, and something I would be interested in.

 

[rudder]

I heard on the radio about an elementary class that sent a unit a flag made from thier handprints. They received one of those flags that were carried on a mission in return. I don't know if they are available for purchase or not though.

They may be hard to come by for that reason.

 

[Paveslave]

I don't know about purchasing flags like that, but I know of a couple personally that were flown on missions over Afghanistan. I'm in the military and know of a good friend of mine that flew one during a rescue mission in a Pavelow helicopter. The crew of the helicopter signed and dated the day it was flown and the mission it was under. Pretty cool I think, but I didn't know some were doing this for profit. Kind of odd, but hey, whatever works. I would do it just for the keepsake and memories. I guess it would mean more to the ones who were actually there, you know.