To honor their service: Man shows his support in a big way
Published 9:21 am Wednesday, July 5, 2017
- Cody Hendrickson of Blooming Prairie stands in front of his flag with 3-year-old son, Charlie, on Monday, in preparation for the city’s 150th and Fourth of July celebration. A supporter of the military, he wanted to honor their service. Deb Nicklay/deb.nicklay @austindailyherald.com
Cody Hendrickson did not serve in the military — but he is a big supporter of the ranks in a big way.
If you go by his Blooming Prairie home, you’ll see an American flag that pretty much covers the front of his two-car garage.
“It’s something like 15 feet by 18 feet,” said Hendrickson, an over-the-road trucker.
“I never served myself,” he said. “That’s part of the reason I did this — to show my support of our veterans and our troops. I appreciate what they’ve done and this is for them.”
It marks the second year he has had the flag mounted. It gets a lot of comment, he said.
And, especially this year. Blooming Prairie marked its 150th celebration during its Fourth of July festivities, so there was plenty of traffic in town to see the flag.
He said his neighbors will help him take it down. It tends to be a somber few minutes when the flag is folded, he said.
“It is something for them to do this,” he said. “To make sure it doesn’t touch the ground and all. It’s a big deal for them.
“They think of it as an honor.”
