I imagine most Americans know that you can contact your congressman and request to have a US Flag flown over the Capitol building then shipped to you for a reasonable fee. You can also have this done in memory of, in honor of someone or and event etc.

Today would have been my fathers 94th birthday. He was a US Navy veteran of WWII. A flag will be flown in DC today in honor of his service and once I receive it it will be flown in my yard every day for as long as it is presentable to fly.

Just a reminder to those who might want to consider something similar.

I also had one flown the day my oldest son received his EGA aboard Parris Island back in 2010.

That is absolutely awesome and wonderful what you did for your dad and your son F4U.

Outstanding F4 Salute to your Dad and Semper Fi to your son ,,Two good men,,They deserve our flag to be flown in their honor..I lookk out my door and the Flag is always there

I didn’t know you could do that. Was there a long wait time for it to get done?

In Viet Nam i wrote the Governor of N.Y. and got a free N.Y. state flag to fly

You can get the president to send a personalized 50th wedding anniversary card as well. I would have done it for my parents but five years ago I don't think my dad would have been happy to receive a card from the president.

Seems like my great grandmother got a letter from the President when she turned 100. I guess that would've been Reagan.

There is a detail from the Old Guard (3rd US Infantry Regiment) that does that flag service. They raise and lower the flags at a rapid pace, but with full correct ceremony each time. It is often used as a “punishment” detail or a breaking -in for new soldiers in the Old Guard. If I remember correctly they are tasked to do a hundred a day for each detail. There are usually four details doing this.

You need to make the request about 6 weeks or so before the date you want the flag flown.

That is pretty cool Raw.

For my maternal grandfathers 100th in 1994 we requested and received letters from five of the six living Presidents at the time. My mom didn't send a request to Nixon since she thought he had already passed. Unfortunately Nixon did pass a couple of months after my grandfathers birthday so even though we did request a letter after the fact we did not get one from him. Four of the five may have been autopen signatures but Reagan's note and signature seem to have been hand written.

We also had the flag flown over the capitol about a week before his 100th.

The letters were from Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, & Clinton. There were also letters from the Governor of IL, the St Louis Cardinals organization, and the Railroad.
Being a wounded WW1 veteran may have had something to do with him receiving responses from everyone too?


Wheels

Wow. The timing could not have been better. Yesterday was Fathers Day, today would have been my mother and fathers' 69th wedding anniversary. And today the mail delivers this. I can't describe the feeling I had when I held this flag in my hands.


Miss you daddy, thank you for your service. Fair winds and following seas Seaman Trotter.

F4U,that is truly a wonderful thing,you must be so proud. I am always in awe at how patriotic you guys are,I wish we could be the same here in Blighty.