Captain Tom Tokartz (Air Force), Norman Way (Puritan Cleaners), and Sgt. Ralph Phillips (Marines) relax in front of the newly cleaned vintage American flag.

We've cleaned thousands of American flags over the many years that the Pledge of Allegiance program has been in effect. Usually the flags are those that customers might hang from their front porches, but recently, a customer brought in a circa 1950 American flag with 48 stars that measured over twenty feet wide.

“The flag was brought in by Captain Tom Tokartz, a service veteran who belongs to the WWII Round Table of Central Virginia,” said Norman Way, Director of Operations at Puritan Cleaners. “Captain Tokartz had us clean the flag, and then presented it to the WWII Round Table at their forum on the evening of October 14th, where it was used as a backdrop for their speaker that night. He was gracious enough to invite us to come to the forum, and I have to say that we were honored to be there.” The program that evening featured a first hand account of B-29 bombing missions over Germany in 1945 from 2nd Lt. Phil True, who was a navigator on one of the planes.

Jerry Dickson, a Puritan plant manager, was responsible for cleaning the flag. “It was a bit unusual to get a flag that big, and, of course, we had to treat it gently because of its age,” said Mr. Dickson. “I think it looked great when we finished, and the customer seemed pleased, so I think everyone was happy in the end.”

“It was a privelege to help such a fine group of American heroes,” added Mr. Way. “To hear their personal stories of World War II was truly amazing. Meeting people like this is one of the best benefits to having our free flag cleaning program. It’s our hope that more people will seek them out and acknowledge them for their contributions to our country.”

WWII Round Table of Central Virginia meets every second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM followed by social at 3480 Batterson Road, Powhatan, Virginia. For more information about them, visit their website at www.ww2rtcva.com.