The flag was flown over Veterans Park in Sea Isle City for three days. (Photo courtesy of Sea Isle City)
An American flag that once flew over the U.S Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, was raised over Sea Isle City’s Veterans Park.
The ceremony June 23 was hosted by Mayor Leonard Desiderio and included officers from the Sea Isle police department, representatives of the VFW Post 1963 Auxiliary and members of the community.
The flag formerly flew over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in honor of the Connolly family, who were friends with a commander in the U.S. Navy stationed there.
The Connolly family has been visiting Sea Isle for six generations. They asked the mayor if the flag could be flown in the city as a special honor.
Singing the national anthem, Desiderio and others in the community joined the Connolly family to raise the flag above Veterans Park for three days.
“For the last thirteen years, the flag has flown in parades, sporting events and at about a dozen schools,” family member Tom Connolly said in a news release.
Connolly noted that New Jersey is the 11th state serving as a temporary location for the flag. The family’s goal is to have it flown in all 50 states.
After flying in Sea Isle, the flag was headed to Cooperstown, N.Y., followed by Lexington, Kentucky. Later this summer it will visit Oklahoma City, Pinehurst, N.C., as well as cities in Ohio, West Virginia and New Hampshire, Connolly said.
