Flags for Vets, Inc.

1 month ago

On Sunday we honored our 695th (and 696th) recipients. They just happened to be husband and wife. Both are U.S. Marines and both are veterans from the War on Terror.

First meet Christopher Greenleaf, Sgt., USMC. Chris entered the service in January 2004 and was medically discharged in May 2014. Chris was an 0311/0351 serving with 2/2. He did four tours (3 to Iraq and one to Afghanistan). He deployed continuously from July 2005 and Sept. 2009. His Battalion relieved 3/5 in Fallujah in July on his first deployment.

Nikki Greenleaf entered in Sept. 2009 and was also medically retired in May 2015. She was a 3531 (Motor Transport) and was wounded in action in May 2013 when she was injured by an IED that struck her vehicle in a convoy. She was driving an MRAP when it was struck.

Chris met Nikki when he was assigned as a recruiter in the Wounded Warrior platoon for which Nikki was sent to. Both have gone on to lead successful and productive lives. Chris works in the mental health field and spends a lot of his time working directly with those who struggle with mental health issues.

Their flagpole was sponsored by a recent recipient himself, John Braswell. ... See MoreSee Less

Flags for Vets, Inc.

2 months ago

Our third and and final recipient from the July 4th weekend is another Marine. I don’t usually do back-to-back Jarheads but I gotta say I wasn’t disappointed.

Meet Brian Weiss, USMC (Ret.). Brian was a mustang and for those of you not familiar with that term…it means that he spent time in both the enlisted and officer ranks. I can say from personal experience, Mustangs have a ton of respect from those in the enlisted ranks because they have been on both sides. Brian started out as a private, going thru bootcamp and worked his way up thru the ranks to Ssgt before obtaining his commission as a 2nd Lt. Brian retired as a Capt.

He enlisted in April 1991 and retired in Oct. 2015. He began his career as a Crew Chief (door gunner) on a CH-46 assigned to HMM 262 and the Famed Flying Tigers based out of Fatima Air Base.

In total he deployed 7 times to support OEF (4) and OIF (3). His unit was hit hard in the battle of Marjah in 2010. He was a combat engineer responsible for route clearance and the detection of IEDs losing 21 Marines in that one campaign. For those of you who don’t know, Kyle Carpenter earned his Medal of Honor in that battle.

Brian is a the consummate Marine, proud yet humble and his contribution and sacrifice on the war on terror (along with his family’s love and support) embodies what the Corps represents.

It was an honor and privilege to meet and spend time with him.

His install was sponsored by Heather Middleton-High. ... See MoreSee Less