American Legion display remembers those lost in war

At the American Legion Post 174 in Ellsworth, Kansas, there are burial flags of local deceased veterans on display in an enclosed glass case. Some of the flags are quite old and beginning to fade. Among the flags are three that stand out from the others.

In November of 1944, there was a big push going through Germany.

Thousands of American service members were being wounded and killed. The goal was to have the American Flag on every service members casket up to the time of burial. At that time, the supply of casket flags was being diminished as casualties increased.

Now, according to legend, a small French garment factory was requisitioned to make the needed casket flags. The management of the factory had heard of the Gold Star Mothers and thus assumed the stars on the flags were to be gold since the flags were to be used as casket flags. Approximately 500 hundred of these flags were made before the error was noticed and corrected. Because of the great need for these flags, the gold starred flags were distributed to the Signal Corps for use.

Although the gold starred casket flags are not proper, in the terms of the U.S. Flag Code, they were officially authorized by the U.S. Army. The gold starred flags, like any historical flags, may be displayed with pride and honor.

American Legion Post 174 is proud to have three of these gold starred casket flags on display in our Post home. These flags are the casket flags of Robert Barofsky, Gerald G. Hurley and Vernon Hurley. If you ever get the chance, stop by the Legion and look at these flags and all the others, including memorabilia from other service members.

Jason Hicks

Vice Commander, Post 174

Ellsworth