Burial Flag 001

 

Folded American flag inside display case found along Highway 132

RIVERBANK, Calif. - A Veteran’s burial flag was found on the side of the road in Stanislaus County.

Now, a group of Veterans is working together to find the man’s family.

The neatly folded American flag was found in its display case along Highway 132. A plaque on the front has the name of the service member it belonged to.

“It’s earned, never given,” said Duke Cooper, a U.S. Marine Veteran and CEO of American Veterans First, a nonprofit group.

When the flag was brought to Cooper, he made a commitment to find the family of the Veteran who earned it.

“It’s most important to the family, they need this piece of cloth,” Cooper said. “This was a flag that would have been over David’s casket.”

David Calvin Lewis, the name of a Veteran who served in the U.S. military, is engraved in gold on a plaque posted to the front of the case.

“I posted on Facebook,” Cooper said. “I took a picture of the flag and asked if anybody knows this man.”

Cooper and the group of Veterans helping with the search don’t know which branch Lewis served in, but they believe he may have lived in Hayward, at some point.

They also believe Lewis was married and may have served in the Korean War.

“That flag needs to go to that family so it can be passed down generation to generation,” Cooper said. “We call that ‘Not forgotten.’”

When Laura Howze, a teacher at St. Mary’s School in Stockton, heard about the search, she wanted to help. She and her students raised $450.

“If this helps find that family, just knowing that we could help in the smallest possible way was an unbelievably great feeling,” Howze said.

Cooper said he’s holding onto the flag until Lewis’ family is found. He plans to travel wherever he needs to go to return a piece of honor earned by a fellow Veteran.

“Even though I never met David, he’s my brother,” Cooper said.

Anyone with information about the family can contact Cooper at American Veterans First.

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