Gift of a Flag
For our men and women fighting overseas, anything that recalls home can be a comfort.
For Air Force Reserve Staff Sergeant James Connors of New Milford, thoughts of his meals at his favorite New Jersey restaurant helped get him through recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sergeant Connors wanted to do something special for Grissini Restaurant in Englewood Cliffs. So he brought home the flag that his unit took into battle, and beginning next month, the restaurant will be proudly displaying it front and center in the lobby.
“It’s just a gift of respect …and it’s saying I miss home,” Sgt. Connors told us, as he turned the beloved flag over to Tony DelGatto, owner of the restaurant this past Saturday.
Connors, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter, spent a week on “bucket brigade” at the World Trade Center, after the attack. The 12-year reservist has had five tours of the Middle East.
His most recent deployment was at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, in northern Iraq. Connors’ unit, the 1st Squadron, 6th United States Air Cavalry, took the flag aboard a “Kiowa Warrior” helicopter on a mission that led to the capture of enemy forces.
“It is an honor,“ DelGatto said of the gesture, and he promised the stars and stripes will be on display in about a week, in a proper case.
Grissini is well known for its seafood like Dover sole and Branzino, and homemade pasta. Now, after fifteen years in Englewood Cliffs (the restaurant just celebrated its anniversary) Grissini will be renowned for something else: a flag that serves as gratitude for the ultimate comfort food — the taste of home.
Tags: Englewood Cliffs | Restaurant
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