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Flag excites students at Dug Gap Elementary
Hundreds of students at Dug Gap Elementary School cheered and loudly asserted their “hooahs” as their new flag was quickly raised, then slowly lowered to half-staff just before lunchtime on Wednesday.
It’s a flag that ceremoniously flew — on Aug. 25 — aboard the USS Sterett, a 510-foot Naval destroyer.
Several soldiers from the Georgia Army National Guard’s 108th Cavalry out of Calhoun visited the school for Veterans Day ceremonies and to help present Dug Gap with the flag. Dug Gap was one of several area schools participating in patriotic activities on Wednesday.
Parent Denny Acres, whose fifth-grade son attends Dug Gap, said he wanted to do something for the school so he began contacting people at Dalton Utilities who he knew had Navy experience to help get the school a flag that had been flown over an active Navy ship. Principal Mandy Locke has praised Acres for his efforts, but Acres insists he “didn’t do anything.” On Wednesday, Navy senior chief Roger Henderson, who is now a supervisor in the control center at Dalton Utilities, presented the flag to the school.
After Acres contacted Dalton Utilities, retired Navy master chief petty officer Randy Ertzberger, who is assistant vice president of facilities at Dalton Utilities, discovered that one of the Naval reservists from Dalton Utilities was returning from active duty in the Northern Arabian Gulf and was being debriefed in San Diego. Henderson arranged for a flag to be flown over the USS Sterett.
“It’s a big honor for the school,” said the 24-year veteran.
Students helping with the ceremony noted that many famous individuals have served in the military including Wendy’s restaurant founder Dave Thomas, comedian Bill Cosby, entertainer Elvis Presley and several U.S. presidents.
More than 50 adults attended the ceremony, including several veterans. Dalton resident William O’Dell said he served in Vietnam from 1968-1970. His granddaughter, Stormy Hammontree, attends the school, and O’Dell said he enjoyed the ceremony.
“I would have loved to have seen them do the same thing for the boys that came home from Vietnam, too,” he said.
Staff Sgt. Scott Guffrey of the 108th said his grandson, Oscar Guzman, attends Dug Gap. Guffrey said he and the other visiting soldiers were supposed to be off duty on Veterans Day but they believe in giving back to the community. He said he appreciates the school sending packages to soldiers while they are deployed.
Fifth-grader Sawyer Sharp said he found it fascinating when the team of soldiers showed his school how to properly fold an American flag and described what each of the 12 folds stands for.
“It was cool,” he said. “It’s weird how they get it into kind of a triangle.”
Fellow fifth-grader Caeli Clure said she was intrigued by the ceremonious folding of the flag and the meaning behind each fold.
“My other favorite part, I think, was getting a new flag,” she said. “I was surprised that (the Navy vessel it flew on) was actually that big.”
The destroyer was named after Andrew Sterett, a Naval officer who commanded the schooner USS Enterprise from 1800–1803 during the Quasi-War with France and the Barbary Wars. The USS Sterett was built in Maine and christened on May 19, 2007.
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Preparing for the big game
Kayla Webb, 15, performs a cheer with the varsity and junior varsity members of the North Murray cheerleading team Wednesday as they walk laps around the track at Murray High School. The team is getting ready for their first game of the season, scheduled for Aug. 20, a scrimmage against Murray High. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen
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