STAR, Idaho — President Abraham Lincoln once wrote a letter in 1863 stating; “Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause.”
The City of Star is doing just that.
Star Mayor Trevor Chadwick has introduced a new program he designed to honor and thank the city's veterans and active-duty military.
"It's called Stars and Stripes for Veterans. It's a program to help provide flagpoles for veterans and active service members in our community and have our community help pay for those," Chadwick said. "We have such a patriotic community that it was time for us to get everybody involved."
Mayor Chadwick said he has been providing flagpoles to veterans for years through word of mouth, but he wanted to expand the outreach to any current or former U.S. service member in Star.
Vietnam War veteran Dr. Don Reid is the first recipient in Star. He said he is so proud of his service to our country.
"I thought the right thing to do was join the service, and I ended up in the Marine Corps in Vietnam for 13 months, in 1968," Reid said. "Being a veteran means everything. This country was founded by the bloodshed of those who believed in our mission, our constitution. So, thankful to be a veteran."
He heard about the flagpole mission in Star, and decided he wanted to be a part of it.
"I put my name in a basket, and the mayor called me and said we got one for you," Reid said. "It was awesome, it means so much, and we take it down every night and we hoist it in the morning."
Mayor Chadwick said Lowe's has been a generous partner in making this campaign happen.
"Lowe's is providing these flagpoles and giving us a discount, they are 20 feet tall, and they have a 3 by 5 flag that comes with it. So, people can sponsor a flagpole for a veteran for just 100 dollars. Then, we will have the Mayor's Youth Council help install our flagpoles because it's important to get our youth involved with our veterans," he said.
The donor who made Reid's flagpole possible is fellow Star veteran and director of the Idaho Veterans Cemetery, Jake Faulkner.
"I think it's such an awesome program, I think it should be nationwide and not just here in Star," Faulkner said. "I immediately wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to pull money out on the spot and give it to them. Let's get this out everywhere, I know just on my street alone, we have five or six vets that don't have poles. So, let's get this program going, it's the time of giving so let's step it up and do it."
That is Mayor Chadwick's goal.
"You'll see a lot more of these because we have a large volume of veterans here and even active duty that live here in the community of Star, so you're going to see a lot more of these happen," Chadwick said.
For more information on Stars and Stripes for Veterans, click here.