Amid solemn ceremony, a flag that flew over the nation's capital was hoisted to the top of a pole in front of the Tyler Veterans Affairs Primary Care Center on Friday to replace a flag that had been stolen.
"It's great day for the clinic and the area to have such a distinguished flag to be at this location," Lee Farr, operations administrator, said.
No flag flew for awhile after a thief backed his pickup truck up, cut the rope and hauled the original flag down, just leaving the rope hanging. Neither the thief nor his license plate could be identified in a video of the incident.
Upon noticing no flag was flying, Hue Adams, a veteran marine, went to work to insure a proper flag would fly over the center. "There was no flag flying for over a month when I got involved," he said.
Adams first phoned the builder of the clinic, who provided a flag to fly during the interim while Adams got in touch with U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert.
Gohmert presented the new flag that has been flown over the capital in Washington, D.C.
"I appreciate the chance to be the one to bring this flag from Washington and make this local connection with our nation's capital," Gohmert said. "It just seemed appropriate that we have a flag that flew over the United State capital to be flying here."
The ceremony began with the Tyler Police Department color guard presenting the colors.
As members of the Marine Corps League and others watched, the new flag was unfurled and run up the flagpole by Marine Lt. Col. Matt Leigeber and Master Sergeant Miguel Fabbiani of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Then the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
In brief remarks, Gohmert alluded to the care center serving veterans.
A prayer in George Washington's resignation as commander of the revolutionary military called for America to always take care of those who had served in the military, Gohmert said.
Nearly a hundred years later, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg speech talked about the necessity of taking care of those who have borne the battle, Gohmert added.