The United States Honor Flag made a return trip through Lakeway last week but on a more somber note than at its previous appearance at last year’s Fourth of July parade.

Lakeway Police Officers Cris Gutierrez and Eric Bartow and Detective James Debrow attended the funeral Oct. 6 of Francis David Blake, 42, a Burnet County sheriff’s deputy who was killed Oct. 3 when his car veered off the road, possibly because he struck a deer, according to Austin American-Statesman reports. Gutierrez knew Blake from their time together at the Capitol Area Regional Academy police academy in Austin.
Debrow, who is an honor guard member, held the flag during the funeral and explained its significance to Blake’s family.
The story of the Honor Flag began as it flew over the Texas Capitol Building on Sept. 11, 2001. Chris Heisler, who had experience in planning line-of-duty funerals, had just worked that summer to help coordinate and conduct a funeral for an Anchorage police officer whose body was brought back to Texas to be put to rest. He even ensured that Anchorage police badges were displayed on the law enforcement vehicles in the motorcade.
His extra effort drew the attention of the Fraternal Order of Police, which contacted him a few days after 9-11. They asked Heisler to organize funerals of the New York Port Authority officers killed in the line of duty.
“That was just one of those extraordinary calls you get that you don’t say no to,” Heisler said.
As part of the memorial to the fallen officers, Heisler helped to organize and be part of one of the longest police motorcades in U.S. history. The motorcade started in Independence, Mo., and traveled to Ground Zero in New York City where it delivered tokens of support from across the nation.
Before embarking on the motorcade, Heisler had contacted the sergeant of arms at the Texas House of Representatives to ask him to send out a message to as many state agencies as possible encouraging their participation in the event.
Heisler said what happened in the next few days came as a surprise. A FedEx package arrived at his Houston home before he left for Missouri. Inside were a U.S. flag and a Texas flag for him to take to the 9-11 memorial.
The U.S. flag flew over Ground Zero for the memorial and also over the Texas Capitol on Sept. 11, 2007.
As was the case for many Americans after 9-11, Heisler’s life took an unanticipated turn when the 34-year-old businessman enlisted in the U.S. Army.
While serving in Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq, Heisler carried this flag with him to fly with American soldiers in combat zones.
A command sergeant who saw the flag flying over U.S. soldiers in Iraq said the symbol was a flag of honor and thus it was dubbed the Honor Flag.
“I didn’t expect the flag to take on a life of its own,” Heisler said. “We didn’t expect that to happen at all. This was just a gift. It’s not something I asked for.”
Since 2007, the Honor Network has organized the transport and presentation of the U.S. Honor Flag to the funerals of police officers, firefighters and soldiers across the country.
Network members learned of Blake’s death and that same day asked Lakeway Police Lt. Todd Radford to oversee the flag’s transport once it arrived in Austin.
Radford, who is acting police chief for Lakeway and a consultant for The Honor Network, accepted the flag at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. He serves as its caretaker while it is in Central Texas.
“It’s an enormous responsibility. It’s an incredible honor and a privilege for us to be a part of a program like this,” Radford said.
The flag is transported in an airtight, watertight locked case that is about the size of a small briefcase. The Honor Network only transports it by air on sponsor American Airlines flights. Whoever is handling it must be an honor guard member and always wear gloves when touching or holding it. At funerals, it is either held or ceremonially draped over the casket.
“It’s such a honor to be such a part of this, but it’s also horrible in the way [Blake’s death] happened. The flag was able to be there to pay tribute” at his funeral, Radford said.
Heisler said the flag’s presence and history moves the families of the fallen officers, firefighters and soldiers killed in the line of duty.
“We generally get all kinds of emotional responses because of the history of the flag and whom it’s flown for,” he said. “It gives them the comfort that their hero will never be forgotten.”
The flag, which was set to be at a funeral in Las Vegas on Tuesday, has traveled across the nation as a symbol of sacrifice.
“It represents a nation of support. All of these families are part of their family now,” Heisler said. “It’s the spirit of the flag that’s important, not the flag itself.”