Hi Janie,
You've emailed me in the past after receiving emails from people who wanted to do something for our military people but didn't know what they could do.
Well, today I was the recipient of a pocket flag as were several members of my unit. I had heard of this project but really didn't know anything about it until now. Apparently there are Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops behind this. It's spreading through other groups, and now many different organizations are contributing.
The main reason for this project was to get flags small enough to be carried in a service member's shirt pocket. The original plan was to mail these flags to the people who were serving on the front lines. It has now spread to other units too, mainly to overseas units.
It was an absolute thrill for me to receive one of these flags. I honestly feel that military people see our great flag in a different way than most civilians. Don't get me wrong, I know there are very patriotic people back home and we deeply appreciate that fact; however, our flag is the reason that we in the military go to work every day. I will never forget when I was in basic training and saluted the flag for my very first time. My group was outside when retreat started to play. We all snapped to attention and rendered our salute until the last note faded away. The feeling was undescribable, and it's something I'll never forget. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.
As far as I know, this project is only going on in the States. I'm sending this to you because you have a very diverse audience from around the world. My hope is for many other groups in America to help continue the fantastic project, and also for people in other countries to possibly start something similar for their military personnel who are deployed to far away lands. Troops from England, Canada, and Australia have stood beside us for a long, long time and are some of our closest Allies. Perhaps people from these countries could contact their Ministry of Defense or Red Cross offices to see if they can get a similar project in the works. There are probably some people out there who think that it's no big deal. Believe me when I tell you that there's nothing greater for a military member than seeing the flag of their country, no matter what the size is.
Along with the flag came a small card. Both were sealed in a tiny Ziploc bag. I've enclosed pictures of both items. I blocked out the name and address of the lady who sent these flags to our unit to protect her privacy. I sent her an email and thanked her for what she's done. She was happy that someone who received one of her flags took the time to let her know. She gave me the website where people can find out all sorts of information about this project.
A special thanks goes out to any of your readers who might already be involved with this project and to any who will be in the future. Please know that we appreciate all the hard work and long hours that everyone is putting into this.
Thanks!

John

http://www.pocketflagproject.com