LENOIR, NC (May 19, 2017)…Hibriten High Firefighter Academy Chief and Instructor Sam Smith opened the flag ceremony with the question: “What does the flag mean to you; what does it represent?” and students answered resolutely – freedom, home, honor, and equality.
“It was a great opportunity to incorporate civics and patriotism as well as the meaning of Memorial Day,” said Smith.
After discussion about the history of the American flag, School Resource Office (SRO) Brandon MacLeod, presented a flag to be flown over the school campus. “We appreciate Officer McLeod’s service, dedication and his donation of a U S Flag to our school Hibriten High.”
SRO MacLeod said that when he was assigned to Hibriten High this school year, he noticed that the American flag needed a new replacement, and he decided to donate a flag during National Police Week (May 15-21) and near Memorial Day holiday.
The flag provided by SRO MacLeod and his wife, Kelly, represents a time in their lives when they were making career decisions to serve in the US Armed Forces.
“My wife bought the flag while she was attending Appalachian State University, and she was in ROTC,” said SRO MacLeod. “In 2009, she deployed to Camp Cropper, Iraq with the 105th Military Police Battalion. While she was in Iraq, I folded her flag and placed it on the mantle in the living room where it stayed during her deployment as a reminder of the sacrifice of freedom.”
Members of the Hibriten High Firefighter Academy and Lenoir Fire Department properly removed the existing flag and replaced it with the flag donated by SRO MacLeod and his wife.
“To me is just seemed fitting to present the flag to the school during this time of year,” said SRO MacLeod.