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Service Flags

Savannah resident revives patriotic wartime tradition

Ralph Lea Burt was a captain during World War II, serving as a tank company commander in George A. Patton’s 3^rd Army, 7^th Armored Division.

And, like so many of America’s dedicated young men in so many different wars, Capt. Burt served honorably and well, earning several medals for his efforts.

And, like many former soldiers, Capt. Burt did not have all of the awards and medals in his possession. He followed the accepted practice of sending forms to the proper agencies to have the awards and medals issued to him, but his repeated requests went unanswered.

So, more than 50 years after the Battle of the Bulge, Capt. Burt’s granddaughter, Elaine Lea Gudger, and her fiancé, Jose Valentin, volunteered to help him collect those precious pieces of his past. During the first years of their marriage, the army sent Jose Valentin and his bride to Germany, frustrating their efforts to gather Capt. Burt’s mementos. And then, sadly, Capt. Burt died only a few months before the Valentins returned to the States. He never got to see all of his medals, and he never got to see his new great-grandson, Joshua Valentin.

Grieving but undaunted, the Valentins kept looking for ways to get Capt. Burt’s medals. But it wasn’t until Capt. Valentin was assigned to Hunter Army Airfield and the family moved to Savannah that their quest finally began to bear fruit. Elaine Valentin met Bob Jolley. "He taught me how to research my grandfather’s medals," she said.

Thanks to Mr. Jolley’s help, Mrs. Valentin was able to find and procure the awards due her late grandfather.

She found something else, too, something that would send her on a unique and fascinating path. During her research, she encountered a brief reference to a Service Flag. Intrigued, she began looking for more information, and was able to find more information and several pictures of Service Flags.

Her curiosity and determination led Mrs. Valentin into a part of the past few are familiar with, and gave her a whole new career. She now sews these unique flags for families of service members all over the country.

A tradition since World War I, Service Flags can most easily be compared to our modern day habit of displaying yellow ribbons in support of our military whenever they are deployed. After the first "war to end all wars," the flags were displayed less often. But with the outbreak of World War II, Service Flags experienced a surge in popularity.

Use of the flags dwindled when the war ended, and gradually faded into obscurity as the United States entered periods of peace punctuated by "unpopular" wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Almost all Service Flags were made at home, Mrs. Valentin said. Families sometimes had to scrounge materials, but the flags all have a red border surrounding a white field. A blue star sewn onto the white background represents each service member in the family.

When a military member dies in service to the country, a gold star is placed over—but not completely covering—the blue star on the Service Flag. "I went through an organization called Gold Star Mothers," Mrs. Valentin said. "The gold star is placed on top of the blue star so as to leave the original blue as a border. To me that means that they were in service and we were proud of them while they were in service. Now, they have made the ultimate sacrifice, so we place the smaller, more special gold star on it."

Some flags during World War II had a blue border, Mrs. Valentin said. "It was pretty much whatever material you had, whether it was red satin from a formal gown you had, or the white cloth from a wedding gown, even."

Flags were adapted during the war effort at home, to honor the women who stepped in to keep industry alive while the men went off to war. "They put two Ws, one inside another, and that was their flag. There were also flags with a large V and the word ‘victory’ across it."

Mrs. Valentin was surprised to discover that Service Flags are mentioned in the United States Flag Code, and manufacture of Service Flags may not be undertaken without permission from the Secretary of Defense.

When she looked for a Service Flag to purchase for her grandmother to place in a scrapbook, Mrs. Valentin found there were virtually none. "Nobody made them. Nobody sold them. You might be able to place a special order and have them made to specifications, but most never heard of them. Most military have never heard of them."

So she decided to make one herself. With no specific information available on dimensions, Mrs. Valentin had to figure it out from old photos and descriptions she found on the Internet. After she secured permission from the office of the Secretary of Defense to make the flags, she bought some material and set to work.

"Until recently, any time someone in the civilian sector asked what was my husband’s occupation," Mrs. Valentin’s printed history says, "I was taken aback by the reaction when they discovered he served in the United States Army. It was as though I should be ashamed of his work."

Quite the contrary, she says. "We have never felt anything but pride for serving our country. It is my hope that reviving the tradition of the World War II Service Flag will reunite communities and families, as it did during World War II."

The flags are 100 percent cotton, embroidered with polyester threads. Though the flags were originally intended for immediate family members, nowadays, Mrs. Valentin says, "I think almost anything goes."

She and her friends have spotted Service Flags in a couple of recent movies, she says. There’s one at Private Ryan’s mother’s home in "Saving Private Ryan," and more in "The Majestic."

She hopes to make enough money from the sale of the Blue Star Service Flags to cover the cost of producing Gold Star Service Flags for families of service members who have died—or may be killed—during our country’s war on terrorism.

"It is my belief that no family member should have to pay for a flag honoring his or her service member who died while serving proudly in Operation Enduring Freedom," she said.

Mrs. Valentin has registered her trade name, A Military Wife, and has a website, http://www.amilitarywife.com. Flags may be ordered through the website for $34.95 or directly from Mrs. Valentin for $29.95 by calling her at 692-0512.

Second Chance Dog Rescue

Are you a creature of good breeding who has, probably through no fault of your own, fallen on hard times? Need a second chance? We know where you can get one--if you’re a poodle or a shih-tzu or a greyhound, or any of the hundreds of recognized breeds.

Second Chance Dog Rescue ∓mp; Referral, Inc. (SCDR) is a local non-profit agency that gives new hope, and often the very last chance for a good life, to purebred dogs in need of new homes.

Trish James, who says she’s been "dragging home strays since I could walk," is president of the all-volunteer agency. She, Kim Horn and Susan Ctibor started the organization back in 1998.

"We’d had some dealings with some breed rescue organizations," Ms. James said. "That was our first real contact with breed-specific rescue and we really liked what we saw. We realized there weren’t a lot of groups in Chatham County that were willing to turn a dog over to a breed rescue group."

The women incorporated and organized their foster-care-only program to work with the breed rescue organizations to try to get the dogs out of the shelters.

"We just kind of clicked," Ms. Horn said. She became involved with animal rescue after an animal abuse case that occurred in her neighborhood. She says she was not allowed to have a pet growing up. "I promised myself that when I grew up, I would have 100 animals in my house."

While she hasn’t quite got 100 in her house, she’s helped save more than that.

Because she and the other two women had similar goals and wanted to help animals in Chatham County, Ms. Horn says it was inevitable that they get together and put their goals into action.

Although the group is small compared to PAWS and Save-A-Life, Ms. James said, it works nicely that way. "We can focus on what we’re doing and not run off on little rabbit trails and get sidetracked."

They have half a dozen or so foster "parents" who take in the rescued animals, Ms. James said. (More foster homes are needed--see contact information at the end of this story).

Since they started their organization, the women have rescued 215 dogs. "They come out of any of the area shelters," Ms. James said. "We work primarily with Chatham County." They also get animals from the animal control shelters in Liberty, Bryan and Effingham County. Owners sometimes find themselves having to give up their pets, she said. "It’s about a 50-50 mix of shelter dogs and owner-release dogs."

SCDR gives preference to shelter dogs, she said, because all of the shelters in this area are kill facilities--they euthanize animals after a very short holding period.

Ms. James said the animal control shelters are very supportive. "We check with them when we have room. If they get in a dog that they feel is extra special or a dog that’s been sitting there for a few days and nobody has shown any interest in it but they really feel that this is a dog that is adoptable, they’ll call us. Especially in Chatham County."

The group will take in dogs that need intense medical attention. One such animal is featured on their web site (http://www.secondchancedogrescue.com). Obadiah the greyhound was in pitiful shape when SCDR got him several months ago. He was emaciated, afflicted with heartworms and had several other medical problems. Weeks of intensive medical care and loving treatment later, Obadiah has gained weight and has gone from a listless, hopeless creature to a lively, happy dog eagerly awaiting a new home.

Second Chance Dog Rescue will take any breed of dog of any age. "We just placed a ten-year-old Sheltie last weekend," Ms. James said. "We’re kind of like a business--we don’t discriminate based on color or age or anything like that," she jokes.

Requirements for fostering or adopting a dog are basically the same. The parameters sound simple, but a lot of thought and consideration goes into the process.

"People that are interested in fostering for us can be breed specific. If they are a family who are nuts about golden retrievers and only want to foster golden retrievers, that’s fine. Basically, a foster home is going to have to go through the same application process that one of our adoptees would go through because there’s always the possibility that they’ll want to adopt the dog."

Most of the qualification process depends on the dog involved, Ms. James said. "We only place dogs into indoor homes. As far as what we’re looking for in a home is somebody that is going to love their pet, treat it like a family member, care for it properly."

The group does not have a specific fence requirement--there again, it depends on the dog. "We realize that people work all day, so we don’t expect people providing a foster home or an adoptive home to spend 24 hours a day with the dog," Ms. James said. "We’re looking for a reasonable quality of care--that they will provide for the dog and treat it like a furry child. That’s how we treat ours and we expect that to go into our adoptive homes."

Although they don’t have scheduled visitation to check on adopted dogs, the group does keep in touch with the new owners--and often the new owners send photos and e-mails to let the organization know how the dog is doing.

"Generally, the dogs make a very smooth transition to a new home because they’re kept in a home environment in the first place. The families of dogs that we know have behavioral quirks are the ones that we keep really close contact with to make sure they’re not having any behavioral problems, any training problems, that kind of thing," Ms. James said.

"One of the first comments I get is, ‘what’s wrong with that dog?’" Ms. Horn says. "There’s nothing wrong with the dogs, they just want a second chance to be loved."

Often, the dogs who seem to have behavioral problems are the result of mishandling or owner ignorance. The animals are eminently trainable, the group says, and even those kept outdoors their entire lives adapt readily to becoming housepets.

The group pays close attention to the animals to discover their particular personalities and quirks so they can better match the dogs to a new owner or foster home. Often, dogs who have been "yard dogs" or largely ignored by their owners, take a little more time to reveal their true personalities--but they do have personalities, and each dog is different. While most reveal themselves to be loyal and loving companions, some require extra attention in the form of play or cuddling, or are equipped with a sense of humor and need humans capable of "getting" the joke.

Cost for adopting a dog is $125, but that’s a lot less than the group often winds up spending to get the animals ready for adoption. They spend, on average, $175 for a healthy female dog’s shots, spaying, and other care. Animals with special medical problems are a particular drain on the organization’s finances, but cost of care is never a factor for them. They will do whatever is necessary to get the animals well and find them good homes.

In that endeavor, Ms. James says, no accolades are adequate to describe the assistance provided by Drs. Kyle Christiansen and Heather Gill at Cedar Animal Hospital in Richmond Hill. All of the dogs are treated there for any medical problems as well as routine immunizations and neutering.

If you are looking for a specific breed of dog, give Second Chance a call. If they don’t have the breed you’re looking for, they may know of a breed-specific rescue organization that does. They work closely with breed-specific organizations throughout the country.

Anyone interested in adopting a dog or providing a foster home--or helping the organization through donations--may call 748-6097 or go to the website at http://www.secondchancedogrescue.com.

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