KRUM — Students at Dodd Intermediate School and district officials were presented Wednesday with two American flags flown overseas in their honor.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Betty Plunkett, a fifth-grade teacher at Dodd Intermediate School in Krum, presents two American flags that were flown over a mission in Iraq to the Krum school district and the Dodd campus. Plunkett got the flags from Capt. Jamey Welch, a friend who has served in Iraq.

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Fifth-grade teacher Betty Plunkett said family friend Army Capt. Jamey Welch, an Apache Longbow helicopter co-pilot and gunner, flew the flags during a combat mission May 25 in Iraq.

She presented the flags to Principal Lila Wright and Krum Superintendent Mike Davis before the Dodd student body on the eve of Constitution Day, the 222nd anniversary of the day 39 delegates met at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall to sign the U.S. Constitution. It seemed like the perfect day to present the flags, Plunkett said.

Since receiving the flags in June, Plunkett said, she made sure they were properly folded and placed in triangular wooden frames for the day students would learn about sacrifices made by others.

“It shows how the military gives back to us, not only [for] our country but for our schools,” she said. “Every kid in the United States is important, and we need to let them know that people believe in them and [believe] that they do matter.

“This is a happy day.”

Welch, who is stationed in Germany, wrote Wednesday via Facebook that Plunkett had asked him for one flag and he surprised her by sending two.

“I’d like the students to know that with a strong education and dedication their dreams will become reality, as those flags are true representation of the hard work and dedication that has made this country what it is today,” he wrote.

School and district officials said that they intend to place the flags in the foyers of their facilities.

“It’s something we’re going to cherish for years and years to come,” Wright said.

Davis said that he found the presentation both honorable and appropriate and that he wished older students also could have attended. He said that it was an inspirational moment in which students learned about the Constitution, the longevity of America and sacrifices made in its honor.

The flag presentation coincided with Constitution Day activities in which students learned about the historic document and how the federal government was formed, school officials said.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com .