Pocket Flags for Troops (Cont'd) April 16, 2003 Fremont High students send miniature flags to U.S. military By JESUS LOPEZ JR._ Standard-Examiner staff OGDEN - After grabbing a bite to eat, students from Fremont High School surround a set of red, white and blue tables. On the tables, stacks of 8-by-12-inch flags wait to be folded. Their objective is to have a flag in the pockets of every man and woman currently serving in the military. Students plan to fold about 2,500 flags during their three lunch periods. They began Monday and Tuesday. The project will continue in the coming weeks. Senior Jeff Hancock, 18, folded a flag and stuffed it into a small plastic bag Monday along with a little white card to show his support for an American soldier. "I want them to know they're doing a very fine job, that we wish them luck, that everything is going well," Hancock said. The back of the card reads: "A flag for your pocket so you can always carry a little piece of home. We are praying for you, and we are proud of you. Thank you for defending our country and our freedom." Students write their own message on the backs of cards, too. "The notes I've seen are so well thought out," school counselor Tiffany Toyn said. "I think it will definitely give our soldiers a boost." Senior Dean Wilson, 18, folded about three flags. On the back of each card he wrote "Hoorah." "Basically I wrote that because that is our battle cry in wrestling," Wilson said. "We needed to rise to the occasion or be left in the dust. We knew that all the eyes were on us. Now I know that all eyes are on our troops." Toyn said Women In Business of Tremonton approached the school to do the project. Toyn, with the help of the Heart of Fremont Club, a service-oriented organization she advises, organized the project at Fremont High. "We're making our students feel like they've done something to support the troops," Toyn said. "It's something to do to feel like we were able to help." Along with several families sending flags to relatives overseas, Fremont High will send their flags to the 101st Airborne and 388 Tactical Battalion. Other U.S. soldiers will get flags, too. "It's actually a whole big national thing," Toyn said. The project started in Denver in October 2001 with the help of Boy Scout leader Lu-Wanda Ford. There are groups in 48 states involved with the project. Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops in Germany and Cuba who are dependents of U.S. military personnel sta-tioned in those countries are also committed to folding flags for troops serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. Colonial Flag donated the first 2,500 flags to Fremont High School, pre-cut. The Pocket Flag group distributed enough fabric to the groups to make about 135,000 flags and plans to make 84,000 more flags next month. As the first lunch period wrapped up, country music versions of patriotic songs played in the background. Toyn walked through the crowd of flag-folders snapping pictures. At a table covered in blue construction paper, four girls hunched over their own set of flags. "It really impressed me," sophomore Mailee Cook, 16 said. "I'm glad we are helping our troops, letting them know we support them." As a member of the Heart of Fremont Club, Cook stayed at the table helping others make flags. "We're very supportive here at Fremont," Cook said. "As long as we have the stuff and support, we'll continue to do it." Senior Heather Smith, 17, kneeled over a table folding a flag and writing a message thanking the soldiers. She has a cousin in the Air Force. "I'm glad to see everyone be so patriotic," Smith said. Senior Tasha Price, 17, said she hopes the flags give the soldiers a boost. "I think it's a good idea because it encourages them to work hard," Price said. Sophomore Staci Leyba, 16, spent a good portion of her lunch hour helping students fold flags. "I think it's awesome," Leyba said. "It's hard for the soldiers to see what's going on, so it's good for them to know there's really people here that support them. This is a patriotic way to show them." Carol Hess, a volunteer helping the Heart of Fremont club, said she is glad to see the students showing their support. "I feel it's a really hands-on project that the students can do to let the soldiers know how they feel," Hess said. "As long as we can keep it going, the goal is to get a flag in every soldier's pocket. It also helps our kids learn how to fold a flag afterward."