Walter Balkiewicz
Police officer, Iraq war veteran
War-worn state flag returns home
By Amy WordenA tattered veteran of the war in Iraq returned home last week.
The large, blue Commonwealth of Pennsylvania flag flew over Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. It was carried aboard a fighter jet on a combat mission over Iraq, and last Tuesday it was welcomed back to Pennsylvania in a patriotic ceremony led by Gov. Rendell.
Master Sgt. Walter Balkiewicz an Army reservist and Reading police officer, who toted the blue state flag throughout his tour asked Rendell whether he could present it to him when he returned. Rendell went one better. He organized a public event and put the flag on public display to honor the sacrifices of Pennsylvania's servicemen and women.
The ceremony recognized the 3,000 men and women of the Army and Air National Guard serving overseas and the 28 Pennsylvanians killed in the conflict.
The flag will fly above the Capitol for only a week because the flags are usually ruined by the wind in a month, Rendell said. But it will remain on display in the Capitol until the end of the war.
"I look forward to the day it comes down, signifying the return of the men and women who make Pennsylvania and the nation proud," he said.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 15, 2004