Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, American flags have proliferated in front of homes and businesses. Where did everyone get those flags? Where were many of these flags kept before mid-September?

        When we asked Enquirer readers to tell us the stories behind their flags, we didn't know what they would share. We discovered that the tales behind the stars and stripes can be lessons in history, outlines of family traditions, accounts of courage and survival, even unsolved mysteries.

        Here are some of our favorites:

A POW's vow
       

Louis Grivetti of Latonia flies a flad in front of his home. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        Louis Grivetti carried a tiny American flag in his Army pack as he marched into Germany during World War II's Battle of the Bulge. But the flag was gone when he left Germany five months later.

        Mr. Grivetti lost his flag — and the freedom it represented — in the Slaughterhouse Five prisoner of war camp in Dresden. Both losses would prove temporary.

        “While I was a POW, there were several things that guys talked about,” Mr. Grivetti now recalls, almost 60 years later. “Food was the main subject. Then when we had our bellies full, we talked about girls. Then we talked about coming home and cooking different types of food.”

        Mr. Grivetti, however, muses about an additional topic: a dream about stars and stripes. He determined that when he regained his freedom and bought his first home, he would erect a flagpole and fly the stars and stripes for all to see.

        When he retired from the military in 1966, he kept his promise. He bought a house in Harrodsburg, Ky., and stuck a flagpole in the front yard. The flag waved there for 20 years, until he moved to Latonia. There, a flag flies today.

A 21st century Betsy Ross

        Christine Combs has survived terror.

        Three years ago, doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. They told her she'd have to go through six months of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, radiation and more chemotherapy.

        “That chills your heart,” says the 73-year-old Cheviot resident.

        She felt that same immobilizing fear on Sept. 11.

        But she has survived cancer. And she's coping with this tragedy, as well. An ambitious project to stitch 3-by-5-foot flags for each of her six children and two stepchildren helps give her a sense of purpose in these anxious times.

        “I've cut out 200 stars so far,” she says. “I think about each star and how we are all bound together. We're all a part of the stars in the flag, the same as the stars in the universe.

        “I feel like I ought to have a white cap and a big apron like Betsy Ross,” Mrs. Combs says, chuckling. “Sometimes as I'm working, I wonder what that was like for Betsy Ross. Did she wonder about her country's future and did she realize what she was doing and how important it was?”

Precious memories

        When John Catron died in 1969, the U.S. Army provided a magnificent American flag to drape across his coffin. After the funeral, soldiers folded the fabric precisely according to military protocol and presented the flag to his widow.

Earline Catron of Avondale with the flag that draped her husband's coffin (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        Earline Catron of Avondale wrapped the flag in tissue paper and tucked it in a drawer for safekeeping. There it's stayed for 32 years. But on a recent day, Mrs. Catron came across the flag. Finding it stirred pleasant memories about the man she loved. But it also troubled her.

        At age 92, a person thinks a lot about what to do with possessions gathered over a lifetime, she says. When an elderly neighbor died recently, Mrs. Catron watched in horror as the woman's daughter tossed once-precious belongings in the trash bin outside her apartment.

        “When you get to be a certain age, young people begin to think everything you have is junk,” Mrs. Catron says.

        Mrs. Catron worries what will become of her husband's flag. She doesn't know of any family or friends who would appreciate it.

        “It has a special meaning to me, the fact that he went and served his country when he was called,” she says.

        Mrs. Catron plans to call veterans halls, maybe some branch of government to see whether they would be interested in a flag from a widow.

A rich past

        Doug Dixon of Mason traces his family heritage to the 1700s, when Americans were fighting their war for independence. A table that belonged to one of his relatives is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

        History seems to be in every nook and cranny of Mr. Dixon's parents' home in Poland, Ohio, near Youngstown, says his wife, Andrea.

        One day in 1995, Mr. Dixon discovered a special memento of the past in a plastic trash bag in his parents' attic. It was an American flag with 37 stars from 1870.

        “We asked Doug's parents whether they even knew were it came from,” says Mrs. Dixon. “They thought it was something given through a relative connection, but there was not a clear path of where it came from.

        “They've lived in their home for 40 years. I think they had totally forgotten it. It was just there among the remnants of days gone by.”

        The Dixons had the flag mounted in an 8-by-8-foot shadow box in a position in which it looks as if it's unfurling in the wind. It has a prominent place in the living room of their Mason home.

Honoring their fathers

        John D'Elena's father served his country in the Philippines during World War II.

        Keith Potter's dad worked in the Army's counterintelligence division during the Korean War.

        The military flags that once draped each man's coffin now hang outside their sons' homes in Villa Hills and Symmes Township.

        Mr. Potter's mother had kept his father's flag folded on a bookshelf since his death in 1985. But after Sept. 11, Mr. Potter and his wife, Franceine, decided to ask her if they could hang it outside their home.

        Mr. D'Elena has displayed his father's flag on special days, such as Memorial Day and Fourth of July, for years.

        “But under current circumstances, it's almost as if every day calls for the flag,” he says.

        The tragedy in New York struck Mr. D'Elena and his wife, Cindy, particularly hard. Both are New York natives. Mrs. D'Elena's brother is a New York City police officer. Mr. D'Elena's cousin is a former New York fire commissioner.

        “New York is near and dear to our hearts,” he says.

Flag gains meaning

CARE OF A FLAG

A vintage flag deserves to be preserved and protected. The art conservators at Old World Restorations in Fairfax offer these recommendations:     • Do not fly a vintage flag outside. Wind and rain put a serious strain on the seams. Sunlight breaks down the fabric and fades the colors. If the fabric and seams are strong enough, the flag can be hung indoors, out of direct sunlight. If the fabric and seams are fragile and deteriorated, the flag should be properly framed, using archival or acid-free materials.     • Avoid hanging vintage and fragile flags anywhere that's subject to wide swings in temperature or humidity. Do not hang a flag over a fireplace mantel. If hanging a flag on a wall, be certain that air can circulate behind it.     • Choosing a place to safely store an old flag is just as important as choosing a place to display it. Fabric should not come into contact with acidic materials such as wood or cardboard. Before storing a flag in a cardboard box or in a drawer, it should be wrapped in a similar fabric and/or in Mylar film. If possible, seal the wrapped flag in a plastic bag to protect it from insects.     Old World Restoration offers additional information at www.oldworldrestorations.com.

        “I say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, and I have retired a few flags in Boy Scouts, but before Sept. 11, that was it,” writes 11-year-old Drew Troller of Terrace Park.

        “Now, whenever I see a flag, it reminds me of the faces of the people around me when I first heard about the attacks. It reminds me of a feeling of unity ... Even the stripes have a special meaning. It reminds me that from 1776 to today, our country has held strong. Knowing this confirms my confidence in our government and in our Army. My image of the flag has turned from a piece of cloth to a reminder that our country can do anything.”

Young man on a mission

        Karen Durstock of Florence writes of another youngster, her 8-year-old grandson, Christopher, who used his spending money to buy an American flag during an outing to Metamora, Ind.

        “He was so excited,” Ms. Durstock writes. “He said, "I finally found one,' as we had been looking around the Florence area and not one store had any” flags.

Remembering those who serve

        Throughout the 30 years that Charles Mohr served in the Army, his family made a point of flying the American flag on appropriate holidays, according to his wife, Judith.

        But then the Mohrs' oldest daughter, Karen, joined the Navy in 1988 and served as a supply officer in the Gulf War. The Mohrs began flying the stars and stripes every day.

        Their son, Chuck, gave them reason to continue the tradition when he joined the Indiana National Guard in 1996.

        To commemorate Mr. Mohr's birthday in June, the family erected a 25-foot flagpole outside their Forest Park home. The pole has room for two flags. At various times, the Mohrs have flown the Ohio State flag, the POW flag, the Army flag, the Navy flag and various regimental flags, in addition to the stars and stripes.

Mystery gift

        E. Pike and Bev Levine are flag fliers from way back.

        But the flag that today flies over their Wyoming home is a bit of a mystery. They have no clue where it came from. One summer morning five years ago, Mrs. Levine opened her front door and found a white box sitting on the doorstep.

        “I opened it up and there was this magnificent flag,” she says. “There was no note in it. It was just in a white box and there was no name on the box. It was the weirdest thing.”

        In the five years since, no one has admitted to bestowing the gift on the Levines.

        Whoever it was knew what they were doing. The Levines are most appreciative of the gift.

        “We hang this flag every day,” Mrs. Levine says. “It's just beautiful.”

Keeping it fresh

        Mary Helwig has flown a flag 42 years at her Mount Washington home — and at previous homes since World War II.

        “I buy two rayon flags every year,” she says, “I put one new one up for Christmas and the other for the Fourth of July.

        “Any (tattered) flag I see, I call the person or company and shame them.”

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