Historic WWI Flag discovered at Lincoln High School

Last week, a World War I relic was discovered at Lincoln High School.

The story of how it was uncovered is quite the tale.

A staff member stumbled across the school’s original World War I service flag.

It was last flown 100 years ago on Armistice Day, marking the end of the first World War.

“It’s a surprise to see that something like this actually survived 100 years,” said Carter Hulinsky, the school’s media technician.

Last week, Hulinsky discovered the 8 by 14 foot service flag while rummaging through school archives.

He knew immediately that the flag was something special.

“I was going through some things, putting some old letter sweaters away, and in the bottom of this tub I found this service flag over here. I unraveled it and I didn’t know what it was. At first I thought it was just an old flag but then when I saw it was blue stars on a white background and not the inverse of that, I knew it had to be something more,” said Hulinsky.

Hulinsky says he remembered the flag from a photograph inside Lincoln High’s 1917 school year book.

The flag, which contains 250 stars, was hung over the school’s entrance during the first World War.

“The flag was gifted to Lincoln High on April 1st, that would have been Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in 1918. It was then hung outside the building and hung there for 7 months until Armistice Day,” said Hulinsky.

After receiving word of the Armistice Agreement, the flag was taken down on November 11th, 1918, and paraded through the streets of Lincoln.

On Monday, the school set up a display for students and staff to see.

Unearthing such a significant piece of history for the school has even greater meaning so close to Veterans Day.

“It’s been awesome to come down here today and watch some of our kids interact with this banner, and have them read and look at old year books and things like that and think about this time in our countries history,” said school principal Mark Larson.

The school also set aside 20 chairs for the number of Lincoln High war casualties during WWI.

There is a dedicated plaque in the school’s north entrance.

After Monday’s display, the flag will find a new home to hopefully preserve it for another 100 years.