By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
When East Troy’s Daniel Donegan found out he was going on a Tiger Cruise on the USS Makin Island, an LHD-8 aircraft carrier, he went to the Village of East Troy and asked if they had a second flag he could take along on the cruise to fly on the carrier and then return to the village.
At Monday night’s Village Board meeting, Donegan returned the flag and it will fly on the village square for Memorial Day.
Donegan told the board the flag was raised on the USS Makin Island while it was in active duty when he was aboard for his Tiger Cruise. He said the day the flag was raised on the aircraft carrier, it was raining with 40 mph winds and as the village’s flag was four times the size of the carriers normal flag, it took quite a bit of help to get it up the flagpole.
“It literally was a battle to get it to the top of the carrier,” Donegan said. “I was up there for about 15 to 20 minutes.”
The flag will replace the flag on the square in a ceremony at 6 p.m. on Memorial Day. Donegan said the flag will be at half mast until the Memorial Day observances later in the day.
Next week’s edition of the newspaper will feature the story of Donegan’s experience on the Tiger Cruise.
