Fort Walton Beach Chamber MAC is proud to have as our January speaker LTC. Retired, Samuel Lombardo.
“If they won’t give us a flag, we’ll make one.”
Samuel Lombardo, December, 1944.
He will be speaking on American Patriotism. “If they won’t give us a flag, we’ll make one,” said First Lieutenant Samuel Lombardo platoon leader Second Platoon, Company I, 394th
Infantry Regiment, 99th Division, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The platoon made the United States 48-star flag from scraps of cloth sewn on a white German surrender flag. John Marcisin, their medic, contributed the most labor in the making of “our” flag.
When Company I crossed the Remagen Bridge, their flag, only one side completed, became the first American flag in the 99th Division east of the Rhine River. During breaks in the battle, working mostly by candlelight, the flag was completed after two and one-half months, on the banks of the Danube River.
Join us for the MAC luncheon on January 28th, to hear more of this story and many more. LTC. Retired Lombardo is an author and poet. He will paint a picture of history that our country was built on. He will not be using any AV equipment or other aids, he will be sharing with you the stories of unbelievable Americans. Samuel is very active in our community, where he writes and is embedded in the continuation of American values. He came to this country when he was 10 years old from Carafe, Italy. His father told his family two things: learn the language immediately so we can speak to our neighbors; and work very hard. He wanted them all to be strong Americans.
The luncheon will be on a special date: Monday, January 28, 11:30 am – at our new location, Fort Walton Yacht Club, 180 Ferry Rd., NE, Fort Walton Beach.
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