Prior Lake VFW returns flag to home at Kentucky command post

Prior Lake American

An Army flag has been returned by Prior Lake VFW members to its command post home in Kentucky after it was discovered in a local bank drawer in September.

The yellow flag, which bears “Screamin’ Eagles” in red text beneath the image of an eagle, was found in a drawer at KleinBank in Prior Lake. The flag was given to Prior Lake VFW member Chuck Dresen to determine what to do with it.

Through his own research, Dresen discovered that the flag had been sent to a teller that worked at the Prior Lake State Bank, which would later become the KleinBank. The former owner of Prior Lake State Bank did not return a request for comment.

At the time, the teller’s son was serving in the Middle East as part of the unit listed on the flag — 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment “First Strike” with the 101st Airborne Division.

Dresen presented the flag at the monthly VFW meeting on Sept. 10. The members debated whether to display the flag at the Prior Lake VFW building on Main Avenue or to return it to its command post.

As the flag had the names of those who had been wounded or killed in action from the platoon from 2004 to 2006 written on it, it was decided that the flag should be returned for posterity, Prior Lake VFW member Dave Thompson said.

“We, as a club, talked about the significance of the flag,” Thompson said. “Just having her in our possession was such an honor. This flag had the names of those men who had put everything on the line for our country.”

The arrival of the flag at the meeting coincided with the installation of a statue titled “The Missing Man” at Memorial Park in Prior Lake. The statue, which was donated by the Prior Lake VFW, features a battlefield cross — boots, a rifle and a helmet on top — and the inscription, “All gave some, some gave all.”

The battlefield cross represents soldiers who were killed in action or are missing in action.

“For those of us that survived, we’re taking care of the remembrance of those that were killed in action,” Dresen said. “That action is very, very important for us. Maybe it makes us feel better about why we were lucky enough to survive and they weren’t.”

At the meeting, Thompson volunteered to return the flag as he had been stationed with the 101st in the 1980s. He got in contact with the command sergeant major of the unit and told him that the Prior Lake VFW would be willing to display the flag or to return it. The command sergeant major did not return a request for comment.

“He immediately said, ‘We’d love to have it,’” Thompson said.

The flag was boxed up and sent to the command post in Kentucky. A few days later, Thompson received a thank you note, a picture of the flag with the current unit and then a picture of the flag in the command post.

“For us, it was a honor to have it in our presence,” Thompson said. “But, not necessarily knowing the specific people that were involved that were there, we felt it would be better if it were back with its original unit so that those men and women serving today could recognize or see their heritage from back in 2004, 2005.”

Instead of sitting in a drawer, the yellow flag now hangs proudly at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

“They are so proud to have her home,” Thompson said.