An American flag hangs over the town hall room at Spring Hills Cherry Hill Assisted Living Community.
On the surface, it looks like any other American flag. But behind the flag lies the story of a Marine from Cherry Hill and his grandfather’s kind gesture to veterans everywhere.
The flag had come from Bahrain courtesy of Capt. Stephen Maro of the United States Marine Corps. A native of Cherry Hill, Maro had spent nearly all of 2015 in Bahrain as an Airfield Operations Company commander at Sheik Isa Air Base. He worked with a unit for the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force — Crisis Response. This aviation unit helps support American, Iraqi and other allied ground troops battle ISIS.
Earlier this year, a couple of F-18s from Maro’s unit were preparing to join four other Air Force jets and four coalition jets in a pre-planned strike mission on an ISIS staging area. It is common for American pilots to fly a flag on their plane during missions. Maro asked a fellow pilot if he would fly a flag for him.
“I just asked him to take this flag up with him,” Maro said.
The mission itself was a success, with the planes dropping 40 bombs on the staging area, destroying it. After the pilots returned, Maro received the flag back and decided he was going to send it home to his grandfather, Bob.
Maro credited Bob with being a huge support in his life. Maro decided to join the Marines shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. However, he said it was tough, as his family did not have a large military history. “My nearest relative that served was my grandmother’s father,” Maro said. “In three generations, we hadn’t had anyone who served.”
Maro said Bob had given him the encouragement to enlist in the Marines and pursue a military career.
“My grandfather has been a huge part of my life. He served South Jersey as a doctor,” Maro said. “I wanted to do something that was meaningful.”
Bob is a retired doctor who had a practice in Cherry Hill. Now a resident at Spring Hills, Bob was honored when he received the flag from his grandson.
However, Bob decided he wasn’t going to keep it for himself. He had met and befriended numerous World War II and Korean War veterans who reside at Spring Hills with him. Bob decided to donate the flag to Spring Hills’ Men’s Club in honor of the veterans.
“I thought it would be better hanging down here than hanging in my room,” Bob said. Though not a veteran himself, Bob said he had great respect for the veterans he had met at Spring Hills and felt having the flag hang in a common area was the perfect way to honor them.
The flag was officially raised at Spring Hills on Nov. 5. Maro had just returned after being stationed in Bahrain since January. He never thought the flag would have become as big of a deal as it did.
“I wanted to send it to them as a token of my appreciation,” Maro said. “I guess I underestimated how much it meant to them.”
Maro was honored to see a number of Spring Hills veteran residents honor him after they had served in the military many years ago. Like his grandfather, he feels the flag stands as a dedication for all veterans who have served and still serve.
“Thank you,” Maro said to the veterans, “because I haven’t done anything as much as you all have.”
