Kerri: Of Flags & Friendship Enduring

Kerri Thoreson called out the various entries of the Coeur d’Alene 4th of July Parade as they passed the viewing stand Wednesday, even spotting Councilman Dan Gookin in a green shirt, riding in a dump truck (although he wasn’t listed among the parade entries). Below, Kerri ciscusses “Of Flags & Friendships Enduring” from her Main Street column that was published on the 4th of July in the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Since this is the day we celebrate the 236th anniversary of America’s Independence, it’s fitting to share a heart warming Fourth of July story. In 1945 Rockland J. (Jimmy) Randall was serving with the U.S. Marine Corps during the Battle of Okinawa when he was killed in action. Jimmy grew up in Coeur d’Alene on Sherman Avenue. One of his good friends was Jim Shepperd, also a Sherman Avenue boy, who joined the Navy and went away to war but returned to marry, raise a family and make a life. A dedicated citizen and veteran he’s been, not forgetting any of the boys who never made it home from the war. Not too many years ago Jim Shepperd was collecting worn out flags to be ceremoniously retired by the Boy Scouts when a package within a pile of old flags caught his eye … and an address: 1810 Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That was the home of his friend from youth, Jimmy Randall. Inside the envelope was a 48-star flag, a flag that had draped Randall’s casket and was then sent to his mother over a half century before. Jim kept the flag, believing with all his heart that it was no coincidence that it was he who found that envelope. More Main Street here.

Question: Do you have a war hero in your family?