WAGNER JOINS TROOPS, GOVERNOR TO RAISE SYMBOLIC FLAG

HARRISBURG (March 9, 2004) -- State Sen. Jack Wagner (D-Allegheny) joined Gov. Ed Rendell and Pennsylvania troops on the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol building today to honor and remember local soldiers serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The group gathered in front of a hundred-person crowd to raise a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania flag that was flown in Iraq by U.S. Army Reservist Master Sgt. Walter Balkiewicz of Reading. 

Wagner was asked to speak at the event due to his own experience as a decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.  He received the Purple Heart and numerous other military commendations for his service during the Vietnam War.  He has also been honored by veterans’ groups for his dedication to veterans’ issues.

In his remarks, Wagner spoke of his own service in combat and the chilly reception received by soldiers who returned home from Vietnam.  He urged the audience to learn from that mistake.

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again today,” Wagner said, flanked by several dozen Iraq veterans. “Let’s make sure that this flag will remind us of the dedication that these men and women brought to their task in defense of liberty.”

The flag will fly over the Capitol for one week before being displayed in the Capitol rotunda until the last Pennsylvania troops return from harm’s way.

“We can never forget the service given by Pennsylvanians and all Americans,” Wagner said.

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