Flag Day, June 14, honors the official flag of the United States of America. It celebrates the sacrifice made by its veterans, the freedom cherished by its citizens, the unity created in a nation of unique peoples.
Our colors have moved a long way from the original 13 stars and 13 stripes to today’s starry field of 50 that will wave Tuesday. Southwest Florida, however, claims two heartfelt symbols of American respect that don’t hew to the norm: One has 48 stars, and the other will never fly.
Stars, stripes in a concentration camp
American Legion Post 38 in Fort Myers owns a miracle flag. Its fabric: the shirts and jackets of prisoners at Nordhausen concentration camp, who tore off bits of their own clothing to make it.
Allied troops were advancing toward their region in 1945, and these brave men sewed an American flag in hopes of greeting their liberators with it. Being caught meant death by hanging; at that point in Germany’s losing war, ammunition was scarce.
Life in Nordhausen was unspeakably grim. Its slave labor was marched daily to underground manufacturing facilities to assemble German’s last-hope war weapon, the V-2 rocket. They were slowly being worked to death, and the weakest were left, with no food or water, to perish among cadavers in the camp. By the time Americans arrived, more than 3,000 prisoners herded into it would be dead.
This American Legion post, the only one open to the public in Southwest Florida, gets a modest stream of visitors who want to see it.
“Some people just come in to stand there and look at it, and they cry,” said Kevin Boyd, post commander, who accepted the flag from late veteran John Spain and gave it a place of honor in the legion’s art gallery.
Spain was in the tank division that liberated Nordhausen and was presented the flag by some of the famished prisoners who could still stand upright. His son, John F. Spain of Estero, remembers how much his father, a man with an interest in history and a near-photographic memory, treasured that flag. Like Boyd, the elder Spain, who died in 2002, was also an American Legion post commander.
The fact that an American Legion has an art gallery is a double-take; Boyd explains he and his post wanted to give veterans an art outlet as potential therapy; they even offer a free monthly painting session open to the public. The 3- by 5-foot flag, with its 48 frayed little stars of David — a final act of defiance from the prisoners — is an imposing presence on the gallery wall.
Unusual art home:American Legion post has its own gallery
It may be the most unusual flag in Southwest Florida, let alone within a Legion post. The stripes have been reinforced with machine seams, but each of the faded white stars is hand stitched. The ravages of a flood have left it with a zigzag of water stains down its right half.
Boyd already has taxing responsibilities as post commander in a public legion that operates its own food bank, assists veterans and approves applications for Boys State annually. So he is grateful that the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida is considering a project to restore it.
Boyd’s fondest dream would be for any Nordhausen prisoners still alive — which would be a second miracle — to see that restored flag.
“Wouldn’t that be a reunion!” he said softly.
Location: 1857 Jackson St, Fort Myers. Phone: 239-332-1853
A stone symbol anchors Freedom Park
The 13-feet-tall, 40-feet-wide flag appears to be unfurling in a stiff breeze. But it is variously colored granite stones, anchored on a base of darker granite in the shape of the United States.
The Freedom Memorial of Collier County, as it’s titled, was born not of a formal world war, but of the 9/11 attack of the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania field that took a plan crash intended for the U.S. Capitol building. It was dedicated, however, to all veterans and first responders.
Jerry Sanford, who came out of retirement to work for the New York Fire Department’s media center after 9/11, has been its supporter, organizer and cheerleader. He was happy to see it dedicated in 2016, although not all the bricks in it are paid for yet.
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The foundation is still soliciting donations for the $100 and $300 ones, which can be personalized with an approved message. Many of them now salute not only veterans, first responders, but friends and family : “We even have a brick in there named after a horse,” Sanford said.
It has been a mission to Sanford, who lost friends in 9/11. He even manage to secure several beams from the World Trade Towers to install in the memorial. Now he’s hoping to complete the flag.
“We got a very nice anonymous donation so we can finish the stones,” Sanford said of the terraced map of the United States. If the Minnesota quarry can comply — there are still 23 states left to engrave — the fully mapped plaza will be ready for 9/11 this year.
Every piece of the memorial has some symbolism, Sanford added. There are benches for seated contemplation as well.
Sanford said it’s not unusual to find flowers in front of it from visitors. And while this flag may not move, long may it wave.
Location: 1515 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples. Contact information: 239-596-7959; Website: freedommemorialfoundationofnaples.org
Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for the Naples Daily News/naplesnews.com. Reach her at 239-213-6091.
