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Command Flies Historic American Flag in AfghanistanBy Army Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio American Forces Press Service KABUL, Afghanistan, July 6, 2008 – More than 50 U.S. sailors rendered a salute as their nation’s colors were raised over Camp Eggers in honor of America’s Independence Day. What made the ceremony so special was the American flag had only 48 stars. Retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III (left), Afghan National Army Air Corps logistics mentor, reads a citation regarding an American flag with 48 stars that was raised during a ceremony July 4, 2008, at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Agra acquired the flag in 2000 after a fisherman retrieved it from the water off the coast of the Bataan Penninsula in the Philippines. Agra has carried the flag to several locations and has flown it over camps in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Dept. photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The flag was flown courtesy of retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III, who works at the Kabul International Airport as a logistics mentor for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. Agra acquired the flag from a Filipino fisherman while living in the Philippines in 2000. The fisherman retrieved it from his net while fishing off the coast of the Bataan Peninsula. “I saw the flag on a pole and asked the fisherman where he got it,†Agra said. “After he told me, I asked if I could have it. He sold it to me for ten dollars.†Agra said after taking the flag home and washing it, his son realized it only had 48 stars. Upon this discovery, Agra started researching flags for a hint of its origin. Because the 48-star flag was only flown between 1912 and 1959, Agra theorized that it came from one of five U.S. Navy ships that were sunk by the Imperial Japanese Forces in the opening months of World War II.
