Tattered D-Day Flag Comes To Bay State
Flag Will Be Returned To U.S. Navy In '04
POSTED: 3:58 p.m. EST November 11, 2003 UPDATED: 7:19 p.m. EST November 11, 2003
IPSWICH, Mass. -- In the town of Ipswich, a tattered flag that survived the D-Day invasion became the emotional center of the town's Veterans Day events.
Jack Harper Reports On Flag
NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that the flag flew from one of the landing craft that carried U.S. troops to the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.
There may be a lot missing, but a lot remains of the flag that flew at Omaha Beach. At the end of seven days of fighting, to thank the British troops for their help in battle, an American officer gave the flag to the toughest British officer there, Douglas Edmonds, 18.
"He kept it in his home until he died and then his widow gave it to me. I thought, 'I have something significant here,' and with 9/11, I thought now's the time to return it," said retired Royal Air Force officer Michael Cole.
"It does mean something," said World War II veteran Jake Burridge. "It's our flag and now it's home."
"It's absolutely amazing that it survived. There are no words to explain what it has been through and what it should represent to everybody," said Vietnam veteran John Trocki.
Virginia Comeau's husband, Bob, was with the 101st Airborne division on D-Day. She said her husband spent the rest of his life wondering why he lived while so many friends died.
"The only thing he kept saying was why? He'd be sitting at his chair and I'd look over a see a tear running down his cheek and I'd say, 'Bob, are you back in the war?' and he'd say, 'Yes.' I'd let him have his time," said Comeau.
Bob Comeau died in 1991.
The Peace and Hope Trust now holds the flag, and next summer, it will be returned to the U.S. Navy.