"Mission Impossible ... Complete" Corps contractor Dale Winfield stands on the slab of the Pazisley home where the flag (inset) was found.  Photo by Mitch Winfield. Back to Features

Debris team helps return treasured flag to widow
By Alice Welch, public affairs specialist, Louisiana Recovery Field Office

Mrs. Marilyn Pazisley, a widow in her sixties, had to leave her home in Buras, Plaquemines Parish, La., when hurricane Katrina arrived. Like most of the residents of this peninsular community, she had no idea of the total devastation that Katrina would bring to her parish.

After the waters receded and the roads cleared, Mrs. Pazisley returned to her neighborhood in September and viewed the remains of her home. The roof was caved and the house had shifted off its foundation. She knew in her heart that the home she loved was gone.

Her deepest regret was the loss of the American flag that had draped her husband's casket. A Vietnam veteran, he had served his country with dignity and honor. When she left the ruins of her house she was resigned to having lost this last tie with her husband.

Four months later in January 2006, the Corps began the structural debris mission in Plaquemines Parish. Danny Phelps, a Corps Quality Assurance representative on this mission directed the local contractor - Professional Tree and Disaster Service - to contact Mrs. Pazisley.

She received a phone call from Dale Winfield, the on site contractor, who asked if there was anything of special value to her that his team could be on the look out for. The one thing of true value to Mrs. Pazisley was the flag. If they could find that, it would mean a great deal to her.

Winfield said that he and his crew would do their best. Mrs. Pazisley's house was a typical ranch style home with an attached double garage. It was not a large building but when you are looking for one small item in a small mountain of splintered wood, shattered sheet rock, torn shingles, and broken furniture, it is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

But this was a "mission impossible" that the crew took on with determination. Mrs. Pazisley told them the flag had been in a closet, but she couldn't remember which one. The team carefully took apart the house and searched each section before moving on to the next. They finally came to the last room and the last closet. Winfield sorted through the debris with gritty determination. Each time he came up empty.

Ready to give up, he walked over to his truck and put his head in his hands. He felt drained and wretchedly disappointed that he hadn't been able to find that flag for Mrs. Pazisley. Just then, one of his crew members came up to him, reverently carrying a white plastic bag. Inside the bag, damp and wrinkled with some mold spots was Old Glory, still folded in the triangular configuration presented by the military honor guard. Winfield could only nod as tears streamed down his face.

He called Mrs. Pazisley and arranged to meet her in Belle Chasse to return the flag. Marilyn Pazisley and Dale Winfield met in a parking lot at the Dollar General Store in Belle Chasse to return the flag. More tears, this time of gratitude, flowed down Mrs. Pazisley cheeks. Dale cried a little with her.

Amidst the destruction and ruin of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a brief, poignant moment of hope and gratitude came to pass. Essayons!