Retired Navy Lt. Thomas A. Chorlton has donated an historic American flag to Snellville to help honor the city's veterans. The flag will be flown near the city's Veterans Memorial each Veterans Day and Memorial Day and will be displayed in City Hall the remainder of the year.
The Norfolk, Va. resident and his sister, Snellville Councilwoman Diane Krause, found the flag in a hope chest in their parents' house. The flag was given to Chorlton while he was serving on the U.S.S. Saratoga in January 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. Following tradition, the flag was flown for a month and given to someone on the ship. When Chorlton returned home from war, he gave the flag to his parents and they flew it in their yard. After they passed away, the siblings found the carefully wrapped flag in the chest.
"He didn't want to give money. He wanted to do something special," Krause said. At Monday night's council meeting, the flag was given to the veterans memorial's creator, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts.
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