WABASH, Ind. (WTHR) - A husband and wife in Wabash County are working to return a burial flag found at garage sale.
Aaron and Jennifer Gillum say they discovered the flag and an obituary for Joe David Long who died 25 years ago in Lebanon.
“I remember thinking how in the world did this end up at a garage sale,” said Aaron Gillum.
They purchased the flag for $7 dollars and Aaron posted the find on Facebook, hoping to get in contact with Long’s family.
“It just seems like something so important you know and I would just hate for it to be lost to time you know or to be thrown away or end up in a dump somewhere,” said Gillum.
That post was shared over 2,000 times and in less than 72 hours word got to the family.
Gillum says he planned to personally deliver the flag, but couldn’t due to car trouble. He plans to mail the flag to Long’s sister in Frankfort, Indiana.
“I have a lot of respect for all of my men and women in the military and I just would hate for it to be me and just be forgotten forever and lost,” said Gillum. “I don’t want anyone to forget that Joe David Long was a veteran and he served our country and I would hate for anyone to just let that go cause it’s not a big deal, because it is a big deal to me and it’s a big deal that his family receive his flag,” said Gillum.
Long’s family says they don’t have any relatives who live near Wabash County but think the flag may have been purchased from a storage unit sale of an estranged family member.