Lost: Cherished Flags – If Found: Please Return

Ten years ago, American flags began to fly from light poles .

It was the inspiration of Dick Bachman, who served seven terms as a Tosa alderman, and more as a member of the Parks and Forestry Board. The flags would commemorate the victims of the 9/11 attack on the United State.

Bachman always wanted the whole effort to be voluntary. The City of Wauwatosa and its taxpayers have never had to contribute more than staff time to hang the flags in spring and take them down in the fall.

On June 18, a windstorm ripped down 12 of the 126 flags, along with their staffs, which were mounted in sockets high on the light poles.

Of those, only two were found and returned.

Bachman, on Wednesday, despairing that the other 10 flags and staffs had only been overlooked and might still be returned, reached a reluctant conclusion:

"Ten flags are still missing and can only be assumed to be taken and kept by individuals," he wrote to Patch. "One was a 'gold pole' flag that was donated in memory of someone special, with that person's name written on it.

"Everyone in Wauwatosa knows how those flags came about after 9/11 to remember those who lost their lives, and to honor our brave military.

"It is hard to believe that a citizen would take one of them home instead of turning it in to the City of Wauwatosa.

"It is even harder to believe that someone would take a flag with 'in memory of,' with a person's name written on it. Many of those 'in memory' are war veterans."

Bachman would, of course, like those flags and their staffs returned – no questions asked.

Bachman, 81, now retired from all official public service, has continued to administer the 9/11 Memorial Flag Program. This year, though, he added a new twist and, at the same time, passed the baton.

All along, the flag program has been supported by donations, but the flags themselves were anonymous symbols of all who have served and died.

On the 10th anniversary of the program, Bachman introduced the concept of personal commemorative flags, on gold poles instead of silver ones, with the names of loved ones inscribed on the flags' borders.

Bachman , to promote and account for the new "Gold Flag" program, and next year it will be taken over by the Wauwatosa Kiwanis Club.

About one-third of this year's display were adopted by donors in the names of their loved ones or those who had earned their respect.

One of those flags is still missing, along with nine others of the original variety mounted on silver poles.

Replacement is not cheap for the voluntary donation Flag Fund.

Each gold pole and flag costs $64, Bachman said, and the loss of all unreturned flags after the windstorm would cost the fund $500.

Bachman asks that anyone who picked up one of these flags, perhaps not knowing its signifcance, to please return it to any city location, or to call him at 262-735-4036, and he will pick it up.

Again – no questions asked.