Aren’t flea markets the absolute best? You never know what you’re gonna find when you’re looking around one, and you never know if you’ll find the deal of a lifetime or that one item that you’ve been looking for for so long.
Sometimes, you come across unique objects that are truly special and have a story, and that’s exactly what happened to this couple from Texas.
Walter Brown and his wife were just shopping around at a flea market when an American flag grabbed their attention.
It was covered with writing, and they were immediately intrigued.
His wife Lanie also decided to take a closer look. When she did, she was immediately blown away by what was on the stars and stripes.
Apparently, the writing on the flag was actually a bunch of heartfelt messages, and this couple just knew that they needed to have the flag, no matter what.
“If they asked us for $100 we would have given them a $100 bill. It was priceless to us because we knew it meant something,” the couple said to TODAY.com.
When they asked for a price, they were equally as flabbergasted.
The seller just wanted $5 for it.
Walter and Lanie bought it without even thinking twice about it.
The reason why they desperately needed this flag is a very touching and heartwarming one. Their son is actually a Marine himself, and they wanted to show this special item to him. This wasn’t just your regular stars and stripes flag, it was a tribute flag for a fallen Marine.
It was filled with a bunch of emotional and touching messages.
“We’ll always remember the sacrifice you made. God bless,” one of the messages reads.
“Thank you for being who you were … Rest in peace.”
“You will be missed by all, but never forgotten,” another Marine penned down.
Apparently, these tributes were meant for Lance Cpl. Fred Maciel, who tragically passed away during a tour to Iraq in 2005. The brave man lost his life after a helicopter crash.
The family knew they had to bring this flag back to the family it belonged to, and did everything in their power to make that happen. Luckily, their children were more than willing to help out and track down the family of this fallen soldier.
Patsy Maciel, the mother of the fallen Marine, would definitely appreciate it.
Once the family was able to identify her and get her address, they knew they couldn’t just deliver it. They needed to bring it to her in person.
“It’s a lot deeper than just putting it in a mailbox,” Walter said to KHOU 11.
Patsy then met the Brown family at the gravesite of her son to exchange the flag.
They weren’t alone, as other people also showed up to pay their respects. Lance Cpl. Fred Maciel passed away years before, but now his mom was finally able to see and have the flag with the sweet messages from his fellow Marines.
Patsy didn’t even know that the tribute flag existed and was completely overwhelmed.
The fallen marine’s mom said that the flag was a message that she needed to heal.
“If this happened any earlier, there’s no way I would have been able to go out there and receive it because I was an absolute basket case. Now, my heart is at peace.”
“You know, I’m happy. This is is all for my son. Nobody forgot my son,” she told KHOU 11.
Patsy also believed that finding this flag was a true miracle, and the couple immediately agreed.
It turns out that Walter actually dislikes going to flea markets, and he found the flag by accident. Nonetheless, this find was an absolute treasure that is now in the right hands again.
Be sure to watch the video below to check out this heartwarming story!
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