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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 14, 2006 Lee Ann Isaacson of Medford says the flag stolen from her yard was given to her by her son, who is serving in Iraq. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Family wants stolen flag back By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune The American flag taken from Michael and Lee Ann Isaacson’s yard in northeast Medford this weekend wasn’t just any flag. It was carried by a fighter jet over Iraq and presented to Lee Ann Isaacson by her son, Justin Moreland, a staff sergeant in the Vermont Air National Guard now serving his second tour in the Middle East. "People just don’t know how personal it is," she said. Isaacson has flown the flag since August 2004 when she welcomed Moreland home from his first eight-week relief tour in Qatar. In January, he was sent to Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, where he will work as a crew chief maintaining fighter jets and loading them with munitions until May, his mother said. Advertisement Moreland, a 2000 graduate of North Medford High School, has served in the Vermont Air National Guard for six years while he earned a business degree from the University of Vermont in Burlington. He’s had a private pilot’s license since he was 17 and has his eye on a spot in the Air Force flight school and a career in the military. "This flag represents him and all the boys over there," Isaacson said. She has a certificate signed by the pilot who carried the flag over Iraq. The flag and certificate could be valuable collectibles someday, but now they serve as a special symbol for a proud mother, she said. She usually brings the flag and its wall-mounted pole inside at night and during foul weather, but on Friday night, she forgot. When she awoke Saturday morning, the flag and its pole were gone, lifted away in the night. "It was not a good day," she said. Neighbors on St. Thomas Way, the quiet cul-de-sac she and her husband call home, also fly flags that were undisturbed that night and no one had heard or witnessed anything unusual. Outraged that someone had come into her yard and stolen her flag, Isaacson fired off a letter to the Mail Tribune. "I just needed to vent," she said. She didn’t report her loss to police, but she posted a sign on the wall of her house asking for the flag’s return. If Old Glory was snatched by mischievous teens, she figures some parent might notice an extra flag around the house and, knowing the value of a child’s gift, return it to her. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Family wants stolen flag back ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement