UPDATE: Original sender of Army flag comes forward

Prior Lake American

In September, the Prior Lake VFW returned an Army flag to its home at a command post in Kentucky after discovering the flag in a local bank drawer.

The working theory was that the yellow flag, which bears “Screamin’ Eagles” in red text beneath the image of an eagle, had been sent to a teller that worked at the Prior Lake State Bank, which would later become the KleinBank.

Lakeville resident Nick Olson said that’s not quite what happened.

He would know — he’s the one who sent the flag.

Olson joined the Army after graduating from Prior Lake High School in 2002. The bank owner, who knew Olson through visits to the bank, asked Olson to take a picture with his bank debit card when he was deployed in Iraq.

The picture was then put on a poster and hung inside the bank in 2006. At the same time he sent the picture, Olson had the men in his platoon — the 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment “First Strike” with the 101st Airborne Division — sign the flag, and he sent that to be hung up in the bank as well.

Olson said he eventually took possession of the poster, which is in his garage, but the flag remained on display — until, that is, Prior Lake State Bank became KleinBank.

“That’s my guess of where the disconnect was, and it ended up in a drawer,” Olson said.

On Wednesday, Olson received a text from a friend with a link to a previous Prior Lake American article detailing how the Prior Lake VFW had sent the flag to the original command post in Kentucky.

The VFW members had debated displaying the flag, but decided to return it because of the names that had been written on it of those who had been wounded or killed in action from the platoon from 2004 to 2006.

“For us, it was an honor to have it in our presence,” Prior Lake VFW member Dave 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.”

Olson said he was “awestruck” when he read about the care the Prior Lake VFW took in returning the flag.

“I was actually very touched and kind of overwhelmed,” Olson said. “I appreciated the respect and the effort they put into not just letting it get thrown away. Seeing the picture of it posted in the company headquarters was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”

Olson said he plans to reach out to and connect with the Prior Lake VFW members.