In January, 2002, The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CV 70) and crew were about to return to their home base in Bremerton, Washington, after a six-month deployment. The carrier was the first one on station in the North Arabian Sea in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She was also the first to launch air strikes on Afghanistan. Sailors spent a busy, 111 consecutive days at sea in support of this mission.
For the return event, planned for January 23, 2002, crew members wanted to fly a very large flag while sailing through the strait of Juan de Fuca and into Puget Sound. Because of the huge demand for US Flags after the September 11th attack on the United States, they learned they probably couldn't obtain a new one in time.
Senior Chief Mike Hurtt, who spent several years in Klamath Falls as a recruiting officer, knew of the Dorris Lions Club 200 foot flag pole and its 30 x 60 foot flag. He called and asked if there would be any chance to borrow one of our flags to fly on the ship as it returned home. The Ameican Eagle Flag Endowment and Flag Support Fund donors supply all the flags for the Dorris flag pole. This organization made it possible to ship a flag to the Carl Vinson within a couple of days of their request.
Our 65-pound flag was personally returned to the Dorris Lions by Chief Randy Bryant, Darla, his wife, and their family on Sunday, February 17th, 2002. They wanted to see the Tallest Flag Pole in the West, and what the US Flag looks like flying 200 feet above the city.
While here, Chief Bryant presented a certificate to the City of Dorris, which states that our US Flag was flown on the USS Carl Vinson on January 23, 2002, upon returning home from Operation Enduring Freedom.
Captain R.B. Wren, the USS Carl Vinson commanding officer, was quite impressed with our flag flying on his ship. In fact, he liked it so much that now the USS Carl Vinson flies a large US Flag of its own!
