Flag Day held at Charles City Elks Lodge

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Each patriotic display of historical flags on Friday at the Charles City Elks Lodge represented an important moment in United States history.

Phil Hess remembers one vividly – almost 78 years ago.

Hess was the featured guest speaker at a ceremony held at Elks Lodge No. 418 in Charles City to observe Flag Day.

The native Floyd County resident remembers the first time he became acutely aware of the American flag – on Dec. 7, 1941.

United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt described to a grieving nation a day later about the Pearl Harbor surprise attack by Japan as “a date which will live in infamy.”

Hess remembers listening to the radio as a 5-year-old as the shocking news was relayed to him via the airwaves out on a farm he then lived on near Greene.

“We had no electricity. Usually one neighbor had a radio that was battery operated. That’s the only way we got any news back then,” said Hess, 83.

Hess said he was told by his elders to keep his eyes to the sky for airplanes that could be bearing down on American soil. An airplane with red zeros emblazoned on its side or wings was from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. A swastika represented Germany’s fighting force – The Luftwaffe.

“The red, white and blue, I was taught, was safe,” said Hess.

Hess, who resides in Prescott, Arizona, during the winter months, lives on a farm outside Bassett. He is an Air Force veteran who enlisted a year after the Korean War ended, fresh out of high school. He served from 1954 to 1958.

He spoke candidly about what the U.S. flag means to him.

“I have grown to understand that our flag symbolizes our responsibility as Americans to live up to the highest ideals that it represents and defend it with honesty and integrity,” said Hess. “You need to honor the flag and respect it.”

Hess said he has participated in roughly 20 Flag Day ceremonies through Elks Lodge No. 330 in Prescott. Hess is a lifetime Elks member and joined in 1975. He has served as exalted ruler at the lodge in Prescott for six terms.

Hess served as an aerial photographer in the United States Air Force. He would sit in the blister of a B-50 bomber and scan the sky for aircraft.

“My military experience strengthened my sense of safety that our flag represents,” said Hess.

Hess recently his honorary high school diploma at Charles City High School last month. He said it’s been kind of a whirlwind time in his life.

“Everything is happening at one time. It only took 65 years to get there,” Hess said, laughing about receiving his diploma.

Hess also honored and recognized Warren Nott, a World War II veteran who was present during the Flag Day ceremony. Nott, 94, was a private first class in the Army and fought with the 26th Infantry Division in one of World War II’s most important clashes, the Battle of the Bulge.

Gary VanderWerf spoke about the different historical flags and Jessica Hyde sang the United States’ national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Scout Troop 4166 conducted the parade of historical flags. Justin Heyer and Austin Connerly performed the bugle call, taps and echo. Mayor Pro-Tem Jerry Joerger gave the proclamation and Chaplain Bruce Hovden led the ceremony in prayer.