Soldier gives local boy American flag that flew in Iraq
The American flag that fills the Spellmans’ Hopwood home with patriotism will have special meaning this Independence Day. The flag flew above the turmoil in the skies over Iraq during a combat mission earlier this year. It was a gift for 8-year-old Jarred Spellman from an Air Force Reserves officer who received a care package from the young boy.
Tech. Sgt. John Cramer of New Salem was on his third deployment overseas, stationed in Balad, Iraq, when he received the box. Spellman had decided that peanuts, candy, a newspaper, juice boxes, and, of course, Matchbox cars, would help lift the soldier’s spirits while away from home.
“I thought they didn’t have a lot of things, so it would be nice to send stuff,” Spellman said. “I wanted to send a TV.”
Cramer is with the 911th Air Lift Wing out of Pittsburgh. He refers to his outfit as the “Fed Ex of the Air Force,” and is responsible for loading and unloading cargo, passengers and other items from planes, and moving troops to bases.
Spellman’s mother, Lee Ann, had reconnected with Cramer on the social media website, Facebook. The two had been high school classmates. Lee Ann Spellman said she had chatted with Cramer a few times while he was overseas and when Jarred learned of his mother’s friend in Iraq, he wanted to help.
Cramer was so touched by the young boy’s time and effort in sending the package that he wanted to give something in return.
“I thought it was really neat that he did this. I can see it coming from someone older, but to have something come from a second-grader you don’t even know, it’s great,” Cramer said. “Sometimes I call home and have my wife send me things I need, but to get something from someone as a surprise, it’s really nice.”
Cramer said the heartfelt gift from Jarred helped him feel closer to home and his family – wife Rachael and sons Jeremy, 13, and Zachary, 10.
When Cramer returned home in May, he honored Jarred during a surprise visit to his school, Hutchinson Elementary, where during an assembly he presented his new young friend with a folded American flag and a framed certificate.
“The 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron has a flag flying program where you take your flag down and when they have a mission, they fly it with them,” Cramer said. “It’s a really neat program.”
The flag was aboard the MQ-1B Predator plane. The name of the squadron and the plane, and the date the flag was flown is printed on the certificate.
“I sat down at the table at school and couldn’t figure out why my family was there,” Jarred said. “Then I saw John, and I thought, ‘This might be a surprise for me.'”
Lee Ann Spellman said she and her husband, Bob, are proud of their son for taking the initiative to reach out to the troops overseas.
“Jarred is mature for his age, so it doesn’t surprise me that he wanted to do something like this,” she said. “It was a really big honor for him to receive something back. He didn’t expect anything. He just wanted to do it. He plans to continue to send things and encourage his friends to send things.”
After presenting the flag and certificate to Jarred, Cramer answered questions from the students.
“I signed every kids yearbook that day,” Cramer said. “Back when I was a kid during the Vietnam War, I didn’t even know what the war was. Now with this war, the young people know. It’s great to know there’s still people behind you, especially when they are young people like Jarred.”