Fly the Flag Project of Rotary Satellite Club - Homer Downtown of eClub of District 5010 International Alaska, USA
Fly the Flag! On four holidays - Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day plus all flown in a single location on 9/11 - our Rotary eClub Satellite Homer Downtown places a flag in front of homes or businesses in the morning and removes them in the evening. More than 60 participate in this project to display flags throughout Homer; this service project raises funds to support youth projects.
Why fly a flag honoring Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins in Homer, Alaska? Travis wanted to re-enlist with Alaska’s 501st Airborne Infantry Regiment but there was no slot available.
Honoring Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins’ “Service above Self”
Our Satellite’s Fly the Flag 2020 project has a flag sponsored by Rotarian Sharon Durtka and her husband, Alexander, to honor Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins, his parents, son, aunt, uncle and cousins in WKFL Park (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, and Love), Homer, Alaska. The park, built in 1989, is bordered by gardens maintained by volunteers. Two peace poles inscribed in four languages "May Peace Prevail on Earth" grace paths on each side of the park.
Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on March 27, 2019, for saving the lives of three soldiers on June 1, 2007, when his unit ran into insurgents armed with explosive vests southwest of Baghdad. The Medal of Honor is The Nation’s highest medal of valor.
Read about Travis and view the presentation of the Medal of Honor Memorial Day 2019 on his behalf: www.army.mil/medalofhonor/atkins
and A Family Remembers: The Final Mission: https://youtu.be/3O9fCxI0NAA
Al and Sharon shared an email received from their friend, Ephraim, about the service of his nephew.
From Travis’ Uncle Emphraim:
I want to share with you, this Memorial Day, this Army-produced video ( March 2019 ) of my nephew, his service and sacrifice.
It’s the brief story of my sister’s, brother in law’s, son Travis, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor at the White House just over a year ago: Travis’ son Trevor received the Medal from the President in a beautiful ceremony in the East Room.
It’s a powerfully poignant expression of how deeply grief carves itself into a mother and father; and at the same time evoking a compelling portrait of the grace, dignity, and gratefulness of loved ones in recognizing Travis’ knowing, without hesitation, choice in making the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of his fellow soldiers.
My sister’s final words in the video pretty well sum it up:
“He loved the Army
He loved being with his troops
And he did the very best he could.”
It was odd, unexpected, to hear these soldiers speak with “love” of Travis.
On reflection, that’s not really contemporary news:
“Greater love hath no man than this - that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15: 13-17)
Who could ask more?
Lest we forget.
And now you know the story of the raising of one of the flags in the Rotary Satellite Club of Homer, Alaska Fly the Flag project and the raising of funds to support community youth projects.