It was a gift packed with pride and patriotism.

Sixth-grade students from Rachel Kizer’s class received an American flag from troops serving in Afghanistan. The flag was sent as a “thank you” to the Langley Middle Schoolers who sent handmade Memorial Day cards to the troops to show their appreciation for their serving overseas.

The flag was sent by Ray Griffith, command chief at Forward Operating Base Apache in Qalat, Afghanistan.

In an e-mail to the students, he said he had gone to buy them a new flag to send home, but decided to send the flag that had been flying over their headquarters the night earlier during a rocket attack.

“We were attacked by the Taliban last night. Thank God no one was killed. It was quite a night but I had faith that everything would be OK, and it ended up that way,” he wrote in an e-mail.

“I thought what a great honor it would be if I replaced the flag that was flown during our attack with the one I purchased, and send you the original one that has seen combat with the soldiers, sailors and now Air Force here in Qalat.”

“She is a little dirty and worn, but still pretty to look at,” Griffith wrote.

The LMS students haven’t finished their support for the troops. The students have started a drive for “Treats for Troops.” They are collecting things like Gatorade powder, hard candy and gum, microwavable meals, foot powder, personal hygiene items, packaged cookies, coveralls, cold weather gloves, air fresheners, books, DVDs and CDs, prepaid phone cards, coffee, games and cards. Novelty items like Beanie Babies and baseball caps are appreciated, too. For more information, contact rkizer@sw.wednet.edu.