published Monday, August 19,1996

`Veterans want help with Mt. Rushmore Flag`

The Mount Rushmore Flag, weighing 300 pounds and measuring 90 feet long and 45 feet wide, will be raised by crane with the help of local veterans groups at the opening ceremony of Buhl Day at the Performing Arts Center in Buhl Farm, Hermitage.

At least 40 volunteers are needed to help hoist the flag.

Those interested in assisting should gather at 11:30 a.m. on Buhl Day, Sept. 2, at the Performing Arts Center.

The flag will be raised as part of ceremonies recognizing Buhl Day honorees Austra Blaus and Joseph P. Valentino, both Hermitage, and Ferdinand A. ``Ferd'' Dalo Jr.

The flag is one of five historic American flags that are flown inter-governmentally in the United States.

The flag was sewn together and dedicated at the Kennedy Library in Boston and stored in a chest aboard ``Old Ironsides,'' the USS Constitution.

The flag is an official exhibit of the Department of Defense WWII Commission.

The flag has been flown at World War II commemorations worldwide.

Marc Valentine drives the National Flag Truck, which has logged more than 500,000 miles.

The specially designed rig has carried the flags to ceremonies in all 50 states and also to foreign countries.

One of the most unusual trips was a 14,000-mile over-the-road winter expedition to the Arctic Circle.

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Updated August 29, 1996