Leech Lake flag flown over Bagdad on September 11

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Leech Lake flag flown in Baghdad on September 11
Marie Nitke
Herald-Review
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 10:31:06 AM


In Baghdad this September 11, a Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe flag was flown next to the United States flag for nine minutes and eleven seconds in honor of Sgt. Damian Thielke. Thielke is a Grand Rapids resident, a Private First Class with the National Guard, and a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
According to Thielke?s mother, Andrea Price, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe contacted Thielke?s Captain and requested the flag be flown. The flag was flown as a symbol of the Leech Lake Band?s support of the efforts of Thielke and others who are fighting overseas.
Not a day goes by that Price does not think of her son and pray for his safe return. She lights a fresh candle for him every day as a constant, burning reminder of his vacancy from the family?s day-to-day lives, and in honor of his hard work and dedication to the cause.
Thielke is on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peace-keeping mission. He and others in his unit are working to stop ethnic killings and help prevent further deterioration of the region?s infrastructure. He volunteered for deployment in March of 2005, and is currently expected to return for good in March of 2007.
?It?s a part of who he is,? said Price of her son?s involvement with the military. ?When he got older, he decided that?s what he wanted to do.?
Thielke, now 32 years old, has his mother, a stepfather, a daughter, a girlfriend and many other family members and friends eagerly awaiting his safe return. Until then, Price said, the family communicates with him through hand-written letters, e-mail, and occasional telephone calls.
According to Price, Thielke gets his best chances to call home when, ?things have calmed down a little bit.? He calls to tell her that he received the pictures or CD?s she sent him, or to ask how things are going back home. Their conversations never get too long or involved regarding his mission, however, as his communications are heavily guarded for security reasons.
?He can?t say much on the phone,? Price said, ?or he?ll get cut off.?
Even so, said Price, Thielke has the ability and time to say the important things: ?I miss you. I love you. I?m okay.?
?I just want him to come home safe,? Price said. ?It?s a thing you worry about every day.?