Tribute flag found at flea market to be given to fallen Marine's mother

Yahoo News ^ | 7-26-14 | Jason Sickles

[windcliff]

In the stack of worn American flags, this one stood out: stars, stripes and dozens of heartfelt inscriptions.

Wally and Lanie Mae Brown were recently rummaging at a Texas flea market when one particular cloth caught their attention.

“I was shocked to see dedications from Marines all over this flag to a lance corporal named 'Fred,'” Lanie Mae writes in a Facebook message. “While scouring the many heartfelt messages to this young man, simultaneously we saw 'RIP Fred' and again, simultaneously we said, 'we have to get this flag to his mama.'”

Lance Cpl. Fred L. Maciel, 20, of Spring, Texas, was killed Jan. 26, 2005, when the helicopter he was riding in crashed in Iraq.

His mother, Patsy Maciel, received the burial flag that draped his casket nine years ago. But it wasn’t until the Browns tracked her down through Facebook that she learned a second flag existed.

The tribute flag bears the final expressions from Marines in his unit.

“I can’t wait to read what they wrote,” Maciel told Houston’s KHOU-TV. “It sounds crazy, but that is a piece of my son coming back to me and I love them for that.”

The Browns, who are parents of Marines, will meet Maciel on Saturday to give her the flag.

[Darksheare]

Ping.

[Rusty0604]

Great story; thanks for posting.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

Semper Fidelis means Semper Fidelis.

TC

[RitaOK]

Chill bumps, sir. Truly.

[GeronL]

What are the odds?

[B4Ranch]

Slim to none.

[GeronL]

yep

[Tax-chick]

Great story.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Slim to none. I disagree. A woman at work and her husband buy storage lockers. One which they purchased held memorabilia of a fallen soldier; they put extensive effort into tracking down his family and returning the items.

[GeronL]

From the story it sounded like they found a flag in a stack of flags and noticed the writing and the name “Fred” and knew someone who had lost a son named “Fred” and immediately decided to send it to her.

[Chode]

good on them, Prayers up... RIP

[B4Ranch]

And the odds that they would be able to locate the fallen soldiers mother were very slim or perhaps would be impossible.

[OddLane]

Thanks for the ping!

[Jet Jaguar]

Active Duty ping.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Great story. Thanks for saring it.

[rfreedom4u]

Fred was not a fallen soldier. He was a Marine! It may seem trivial but there is a difference.

But a great story either way.