Running with flag makes vet feel good
BUTLER TWP — Frequent drivers on Route 68 probably have spotted Dave Jackson at one time or another. He's a 20-year veteran and a marathon runner who goes on jogs carrying his four-foot American flag.
An Air Force veteran from the Desert Storm campaign, he said the flag is symbolic of many things in his life.
“I got to thinking about how I felt when I ran with the flag. How I used to feel as a kid when I was saying the Pledge of Allegiance. How I felt when I came back from Desert Storm,” said Jackson of Butler Township. “How I felt as a kid, watching the Veterans Day Parade. Just, now it makes me feel good.”
He said he started taking the flag with him on runs about three years ago during patriotic holidays like Flag Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day and important anniversaries such as Sept. 11.
Now though, he always takes it with him. He runs about five times a week, usually running longer distances, sometimes as long as 10 or 20 miles.
Sometimes he'll run along Route 68, and other days on Whitestown Road. He's run to Evans City and back.
If he's really motivated, he'll go all the way to Zelienople.
He's gone through about a dozen pairs of shoes in the past three years, and tries to run at least 40 miles a week.
On the road, many passing motorists are quick to react to the flag he carries all those miles.
“I get honks. I get lots of thumbs up. I've had some people salute,” he said. “Some high-fives at stop lights. I've had a few jerks. But overall, it's been very positive.”
Some have gone as far as taking selfies with him.
One time, when a group of teenage girls asked him why he carried the flag during his run, he turned the conversation into an American history lesson.“I said to them, 'If you can tell me why the stars, why the bars, what they represent, and why the colors?' And two gals couldn't tell me,” he said.The red and white stripes represent the country's 13 original colonies, and the stars represent each of the country's 50 states. The colors each have their own meaning, too: Red is for valor, white is for purity and innocence, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.Jackson runs year-round, through wind and rain, which makes the flag a bit heavier to carry.Jackson ran in the Pittsburgh Marathon for the past three years, and already is training for next year's race in May.Although he hasn't run with the flag at any of the marathons, he said he'll continue to run on roads with the flag because it's a commonality for all Americans.“The flag is a part of us. It's our histories. It's our traditions. It's everything all wrapped up in one. We all have one, typically,” he said. “When I was a kid, everyone had one on their front porch. You don't see it a lot now. Although I will say, on my running route, I've seen more flags pop up on porches, which is cool ….“The country is going through a rough time right now, a lot of division. And again, it all boils down to the flag is still the bottom line. No matter what you feel about any subject, you still love the flag.”Jackson and his wife, Blanche, live in Butler Township. He works for Verizon's cable TV and On Demand Department in downtown Pittsburgh.When he's not running, he enjoys playing his bass guitar, kayaking and fishing, riding his motorcycle, and spending time with his two grandchildren.
