U.S. Flags Made to Order for Soldiers' Caskets

Flags for dead soldiers made by proud group of people who have disabilities.

ByABC News
November 26, 2009, 10:16 AM

Nov. 26, 2009— -- Star by patriotic star, stripe by patriotic stripe, workers at Miami's Goodwill Industries stitch and sew the most familiar of flags. But these all-cotton U.S. flags aren't made for waving, as they have a more solemn mission: They are made to be draped over the caskets of soldiers killed in America's wars.

The workers here know this is no ordinary assembly line, and Sylvia Peclses couldn't be more proud.

"Because I love it, I love it," she says.

You may have seen these flags in images of the remains of soldiers killed in the line of duty.

Watch More on the Goodwill Industry Flags on 'World News With Charles Gibson,' Tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC

They're the same crisp flags that cover the remains of American service members killed in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is the most revered of symbols with the most sacred of destinations, but there's more to the story of these flags. The story lies in the people who make them.

The workers piecing together these flags see their work as a sacred duty, too. Most of the 800 workers at Goodwill's factory have mental or physical disablities.

They sew not only flags but also uniforms worn by America's soldiers and sailors.

Dennis Pestrana the CEO of Goodwill of South Florida says its part of a program run by the Department of Defense and the Veteran's Administration aimed at steering work to the disabled.

"The flags ... as important as they are for us, are a means to an end for the training and employment and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities," Pestrana says.

It's a responsibility they're honored to bear, according to worker David Benitez, who's been boxing up American flags on the assembly line for 11 years.