Marine whose flag was burned is inundated with offers of replacements

[thedrifter]

Marine whose flag was burned is inundated with offers of replacements

12:00 AM CDT on Friday, July 3, 2009




In Wednesday's Dallas Morning News, we reported that someone had torched the American flag displayed on the front porch of Ed Jordan, a 70-year-old Marine who lives near Valley View Mall. Also torched: a flag Jordan flew to honor the Marines and a U.S. flag flown by one of his neighbors.

WHAT HAPPENED: Jordan went out Monday morning to run an errand. When he got home, his American flag – flown this week in recognition of the Fourth of July – had been incinerated. "A sooty sliver of red and white was all that remained," we wrote.

WHAT'S NEW: The Marine has been inundated with offers of replacement flags and other help. Among those who stepped forward (through his agent) was Kid Rock, who performed at Superpages.com Center on Wednesday.

Iraq War veteran Patrick Best also contacted Jordan. Best met up with Jordan and gave him an American flag that had flown over a base in Mosul, Iraq. "Him being a fellow veteran, it just made sense for him to have it," Best said. Jordan said he was humbled to accept the gift. Jordan, who is out of town for the holiday weekend, said he will distribute any extras that come his way through his neighborhood association.


Avi Selk and Mark Norris

aselk@dallasnews.com; norrism@dallasnews.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Veteran Whose American Flag Was Vandalized Gets Replacement From Iraq

Patrick Best, after serving with the Army for two tours in Iraq, brought home an American flag that once flew over his base near Mosul, but he wasn't sure what to do with it — until he heard about Ed Jordan.

Jordan, who served in the Marines in the 1950s, had displayed an American flag in front of his Dallas home until Monday, when it was torched by vandals, according to local media reports. When Best heard about the vandalism, he knew his flag should go to Jordan.

"It needed a home, and he had a home that needed a flag. So it was just very simple to connect the two together," Best told WFAA.

Jordan said he'd been planning on getting a replacement but didn't expect one like this.

"It has that much more meaning to know that somebody you've been praying for, this flag was flying over them," Jordan told WFAA.

Best's new mission is to spend time in Coppell, Texas, with his family, the station reported — and Jordan's new mission is to find a bigger flag pole.

Ellie