Students and staff at Lincoln High celebrated Veteran’s Day in a special way after a service flag was found in storage at the school. The service flag was last displayed 100 years ago, when it was flown in front of the school on Armistice Day 1918, the end of World War I.
The flag has 250 blue stars, representing a portion of the students from Lincoln High serving in World War I. Two other flags were expected to be donated to represent the rest of the former students.
In addition to the flag, Lincoln High has also displayed 20 chairs with candles to represent the twenty Lincoln High students who lost their lives serving during the Great War.
Carter Hulinsky, a media technician at Lincoln High, discovered the flag and knew it had to be something special.
“I remember seeing in a 1917 yearbook, this flag, hung in front of the building. And from then I just began doing more and more research," Hulinsky said. "As we were coming up on Veteran’s Day and the 100th anniversary of World War I with Armistice Day, I thought this was the opportunity to pull it out, have students see it, engage with this and share some information about the end of World War I and how it impacted Lincoln High students.”
Many students have come to view the flag and learn about its history throughout the day. Mckenna Ahlrichs, a freshman in the Junior Air Force ROTC program, said the flag was very special to see.
“I thought, wow, this was actually in Lincoln High once and it hung from the school. Because I’ve never seen something like this before and it’s actually kind of cool to represent all the people that served and died in the war,” Ahlrichs said.
Lincoln High Principal Mark Larson said the flag has been a great way for the school to celebrate Veteran’s Day.
“It’s just been a really cool day today to watch our teenagers and our current students interact with a piece of history like that and have it have a real connection to their current lives and I believe has really made this Veteran’s Day for our Lincoln High kids special,” Larson said.
The flag is in good condition, but the school plans to have restoration work done on it before finding a permanent display.