It’s better to give than to receive—it’s a motto we’re all familiar with, but few people live it the way Kris Morgan does. Morgan, a disabled veteran, runs a non-profit organization called Veteran Flags by Vets. Over the past three years, he’s created over a thousand custom-made wooden flags that he sells on the organization’s website, either free of charge or at cost. It’s a labor of love that has helped Morgan overcome the depression that began after an injury sidelined his military career.
A Legacy of Service
Both Morgan’s grandfathers and his stepfather served in the military. “I always knew I’d follow in their footsteps, but I thought it would be the Army,” Morgan says, with a chuckle. While still in school during a free lunch period, he went to the local recruitment station with every intention of enlisting. Everyone in the office, however, had gone to lunch—except for an Air Force recruiter, who talked up a good game and convinced Morgan to join the Air Force instead.
What followed was a military career that Morgan loved, until he sustained a head injury in Saudi Arabia that left him with seizures, headaches, heart problems, anxiety, and depression. Over the next decade, the depression worsened until the day he wandered into his home’s garage in Del City, Oklahoma to make his first wooden flag.
A Passion is Born
Morgan’s grandfather, affectionately known as “Poppy” to his family, had been big into woodworking all his life. After he passed away, he left his grandson his tools, but those tools stayed silent for a long time. Then one day, while mired in depression, Morgan got up and went to his garage. Despite never having done woodwork before, he began a project. Three days later, he’d made his first wooden flag. Little did he know how that flag would change his life.
He decided to give the flag to his friend and fellow vet, James, whose reaction Morgan still remembers clearly. “His face lit up and he asked me where I’d gotten the flag. That’s when it occurred to me that while I was making that flag, I hadn’t felt depressed at all.”
More flags soon followed, and eventually, Veteran Flags by Vets was born.
It didn’t take long for Morgan to outgrow his garage. A buddy of his had a small building on a quiet piece of property out in the country—a perfect location to move his growing woodworking shop. Morgan has since upgraded the building’s electricity and added a new concrete pad, and a fire pit.
He now also offers workshops so his fellow vets can learn to make their own flags. For a small fee, they receive all the tools and materials they need to make a flag, lunch, and something that money can’t buy—the camaraderie that promotes healing.
“After we’re done for the day, we sit around the fire and talk. It’s there that the healing begins.”
Created By Vets, For Vets
Veteran Flags by Vets offers wooden flags that range from the traditional 50 Star Flag and a Betsy Ross Flag, to custom designs featuring specific branches of the military, sports teams, or anything else that is special to the recipient. Flags can be ordered at cost, and donations are also accepted so that veterans who are nominated can receive a flag at no cost at all.
Every flag that Morgan makes comes with an extra something as well—his name and contact number on the back. If a fellow vet needs to talk, he’s always just a phone call away. “It’s important they know that someone cares about them.”
Morgan’s goal is to take his workshops on the road so that vets all across the country can benefit from the healing power of woodworking.
He has another goal as well—to one day teach his own grandson to woodwork. “It’s doing the simple things you enjoy—whether hunting, fishing, or working with your hands—that helps you get through things.”
Inspiring stories like Kris Morgan’s are one of the reasons we work so hard at Tucker Disability Law to make sure that our military vets live the full life they deserve. If you have been denied disability benefits, we want to help. You can click this link to schedule a free consultation, or call us at 866-282-5260.
It’s our mission to help Vets get the benefits they deserve, and we want to help Veteran Flags by Vets achieve their mission.
Would you like to be a part of the mission too?
If your answer is yes, here’s how you can help.
Could you please share this story about Kris and Veteran Flags by Vets with a fellow Vet who filed a claim for VA benefits and was denied?
Tucker Disability Law will donate to Veteran Flags by Vets to cover the cost for a Vet to handcraft a custom American Flag for you. It’s our way of saying thank you for your service.
- By helping a Vet friend, you also help Kris, and you help Veteran Flags by Vets offering flags to Vets who can’t afford to buy one.
- Helping a Vet friend will help a fellow Vet deal with their disability because building a handcrafted flag for Vets like you is therapy for them.
- When you’ve proudly placed your handcrafted wooden flag, made by a Vet for a Vet – You Paid it Forward.
Paying it Forward to a Vet is easy. Click on this link and share this article with a Vet friend who was denied VA benefits. If we can help them, you will also help Veteran Flags by Vets. And if you know of a fellow vet whose VA benefits claim has been denied, we’re here to help. Click here to refer a vet.
Veteran Flags by Vets is a 501c3 charitable organization.
