ELMORE COUNTY, Idaho — What is a Patriot? When I first saw an American flag high on a hill off of I-84, I wondered who did that and why? So after driving by it for years, I decided it was worth a story to try and solve the I-84 flag mystery.
A Boise man called me and said, "That’s my dad." His dad is David Lapray, a Twin Falls man who took it upon himself to replace the tattered flag 12 years ago, and has been doing it ever since.
During our conversation, I asked David his motivation behind it. “It looked ragged." ["And that bothered you?"] "Yes." ["Why?"] "The colors; if the flag is doing good, I know the United States is doing good.”
But there’s more to the story. His wife Sandy says Dave is a humble man who has suffered numerous health issues and never wants the spotlight on him. So she wrote a poem about this Patriot. Then Sandy approached singer-songwriter Heath Clark at one of his shows and asked Heath about the poem.
Heath knew exactly what Sandy was talking about when she asked him about it. “You ever seen that flag up on the hill when you’re driving up to Boise? My husband's the one who walks up that hill and replaces it.”
Heath didn't hesitate. He put pencil to paper and went to work and came up with “There’s a Flag “. The song is exactly what Sandy had in mind.
Sandy explains, “You know it’s important that people know what he did because it’s amazing that he does that so I just threw something together.”
So the next time your travels take you past the I-84 flag, take a moment and think of Dave, who truly is a patriot.
