Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 11, 1991 TAG: 9102110114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DEBBIE MESSINA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
The small, family-owned business has been bombarded with orders from around the world for its original Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm flags.
The flags - a red, white and blue shield against a mustard-colored background that symbolizes the desert - are being sold at cost, $20. Operation Desert Shield or Operation Desert Storm is printed across the crest.
The Desert Shield banners started selling briskly the week before the war began. Sales picked up after the first round of air strikes, and the small 25-member crew strained to keep pace with demand.
But after a feature story on the flags aired on the Cable News Network worldwide and was repeated several times, there's been a deluge of requests.
The shop is facing a three-week backlog for out-of-town orders.
"We never realized it could take off like this," said Doris Wideman, vice president of the company. Wideman said the company has not had time to count the number of flags sold.
And while they're placing their orders, many customers are also ordering Old Glory. POW-MIA flags declaring "You Are Not Forgotten" also have become hot sellers.
"This is wonderful for the cause," said President Karen Bistrup, looking a little weary in her overalls splattered with red, white and blue ink. "It's great so many people think so much about our troops over there."
Bistrup has been working day and night to respond to the influx of orders. She has even taken on the dirtiest of all jobs, making the screen prints.
She sees the flags as her pet project and refuses to make a profit on them.
"I've said this loud and clear - I do not want to make any money on our soldiers," Bistrup said. "These are brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line."
Calls have come from as far away as Holland, Denmark, Hawaii and Alaska. One man from Canada wants 1,000 Desert Storm flags, a tall order for a company that can produce only 300 to 400 flags a day.
Callers frustrated by the constant busy signal at U.S. Flag & Signal or who cannot find the number are ringing up the Virginia Beach branch of the Chamber of Commerce. The chamber recently fielded at least 100 calls in one day.
Some callers who get busy signals have even dialed U.S. Flag & Signal's neighboring business to ask them to place their orders.
"We're asking people to be patient with us," Wideman said, explaining that the company has only three phone lines. "We want everyone to have one, and we're filling the orders as fast as we can."
Callers are not just placing orders, they are taking the time to commend the company for selling the flag at no profit, to chat about their feelings about the war and to talk about about family members who are part of Desert Storm.
Bistrup designed the flag in August, soon after the first troops were sent to the Persian Gulf.
"When the soldiers returned from Vietnam, they got spit on and they got booed at," she said. "I did not want to see that happen again.
"This my little way of honoring our troops."
by CNB