GREENSBORO, N.C. — In this one nation, under God, indivisible, split steams spoil the splendor of stars and stripes.
"All you got to do is call me, and I'll come change your flag," explained Marine Corps veteran Harry Youngblood, carefully lowering an old flag from a bent flagpole.
Standing at attention during the process was Jo Jackson, who had seen the North Carolina weather take a toll on Old Glory for months.
"You know, I got tears in my eyes," she told Youngblood.
He replied, "That's fine! It's an honor to change the flag for a veteran."
New Life to Old Glory
This was the second time Youngblood replaced Jo Jackson's flag in Winston-Salem. The two met by chance last year when Youngblood was on a drive and noticed her emblem torn and tattered.
"It was right after my brother passed, and I was trying to get some stuff out of my truck to bring in, and he pulled down the drive. He said, 'I think, for one, you might need some help getting that out of the truck...and I think your flag needs some help.'"
Jackson's brother, Clyde Dye, served in Vietnam and later worked at the Pentagon.
"When he came out, he was still the marine, still the marine. (He) rolled his socks and everything. He was very proud to do that," Jackson smiled.
It's why she is proud to fly the flag...with help from the man with a mission.
"It means everything to me. It means everything. He does it on his own and free of his heart," Jackson cried.
This last year, Youngblood replaced more than 100 flags, a vow to honor the one that won't fly again — the one placed folded in his arms years ago.
Like father, like son
"He called me and said, 'Dad, I joined the military,'" Youngblood recalled while showing WFMY News 2's Meghann Mollerus photo albums of his beloved son.
Youngblood knew his son always looked up to him and wanted to be like him.
"That's the hardest thing about it—his wanting to follow in my footsteps may have gotten him to where he is today," he said.
Marine Corps Sgt. Lenny Youngblood was hard-headed and warm-hearted, a fun-loving soul ever since childhood.
"When he smiled, he just lit up every room. He had a great sense of humor. He probably got away with a lot of stuff 'cause of that," Harry Youngblood recalled.
However, he was steadfast in a call of duty, doing back-to-back tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I said, "Lenny, you've been there four times. What do you need to go back for? You're rolling the dice,'" Harry Youngblood remembered telling his determined son.
"He (Lenny) said, 'There's a bunch of young Marines going this time who've never been there. He said, 'I want to be there to help them.'"
On a fifth deployment, a roadside bomb killed his best friend -- Lance Cpl. Jessie Cassada -- instantly, and it left Lenny Youngblood with a traumatic brain injury.
"That's when Lenny died because when he came back, he was never ever the same," his father said.
Looking back, Harry Youngblood more clearly recognizes signs of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
"He was angry. He was [argumentative]. He went to a baseball game with me and my wife. He was there, fine, and all of a sudden, they started setting fireworks off...and he just froze, then took off running. He had to get out of there," Harry Youngblood recalled.
For years, Lenny Youngblood tried to outpace PTSD until parenthood and purposes placated wounds. On Sept. 10, 2016, he was packing for a trip with Platoon 22 -- a support group for families of veterans who died by suicide.
"The day he was getting ready to go on a ride with the bikers, he bent over to tie his shoe, and that's when something in his brain erupted...and he was dead. He was gone," Harry Youngblood recalled.
The medical examiner ruled Lenny Youngblood's death 'under investigation,' and Harry Youngblood said he never received an update with an official cause. To this day, he does not know for sure why his son died, but he does know...how to let his legacy live.
Never Forget
"People say, 'Well, let me pay you for the flag,' and I tell them, 'If you're a veteran, and I raise a flag, you've already paid for that flag.'" he said.
He regularly checks on and changes out the flag of Cyrus Bowman, who worked for NATO in France during the Korean War and has flown the flag for friends who never came home.
Bowman, in receiving his latest new flag, was visibly emotional reflecting on what it meant.
"It's a monument to the people that died and were wounded, caught in the mud, snow, ice, suffered, bled and died, drowned in the water, shot out of the air, and it represents America to me -- one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice to all," Bowman cried.
Saluting Bowman's new flag, Harry Youngblood said, "I made a promise to Lenny. They would know who Lenny was and what it cost. If you mention them, they never die."
It is a symbol for Lenny Youngblood and all sons and daughters whose ultimate sacrifice keeps America free.
Requesting a flag replacement
Youngblood buys the flags out of pocket and sometimes gets them donated by local businesses, like the Winston-Salem Publix. If you would like to contribute or request a flag replacement, contact Harry Youngblood at hyoungblood1242@gmail.com.
