Community helps woman restore nation's symbol

STAFFORD — Before the fireworks started on July 4, Mother Nature unleashed some of her own.

Just after 3 p.m. that Friday a storm moved into the North Stafford area with high winds, fierce lighting and heavy rains. It caused power outages at stores inside the Doc Stone Shopping Center. The wind caused trees to bend sideways and ripped apart a national symbol one woman worked so hard to create.

Elani Zotos and her husband, Demetrios “Jimmy” Zotos, own the popular Jimmy the Greek Restaurant in North Stafford. She said her job keeps her working long hours, but she never let that stop her from becoming an American citizen two years ago.

“This is such a strong county and a very proud one,” said Elani Zotos. “Our flag is a powerful symbol.”

Zotos said she hung the flag that she had made on a flagpole outside of her restaurant in April. Her neighbors and customers loved it, she said, because it added to a family of large American flags that currently line Garrisonville Road.

When she went out of town over the July 4 holiday and left the flag flying, the summer storm swept across the area. The winds ripped the flag from the pole leaving it dangling dangerously close to the ground. Regulations dictate that at no time should the banner touch the ground, according to the U.S. Government.
“That just ain’t right, we need to do something about getting another one up there,” said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Donald Vollmer, who saw the flag from the nearby Wal-Mart after the storm passed.

Neighbors called Zotos to let her know about the damage to her flag. She called her husband, but when he got there, the flag was gone. The couple thought for sure someone had stolen it — until they received a phone call from a car dealership two blocks down the street.

Zotos said an out-of-state motorist saw the dangling flag, went to the dealership, which has a similar flag hoisted, and asked to use a tool to remove the damaged flag from the pole. The Good Samaritan brought the tool and the flag back to the dealership and asked them to notify the restaurant.

Zotos picked up her tattered flag the next day. It would never fly again.

“All that were left was the stripes. The stars looked like they had been ripped away,” she said.

In a measure of what some are calling uncommon patriotism, Zotos went to work on a new flag that would ultimately hang where the last one fell. She purchased material from three different Spotsylvania fabric stores. She worked on her days off and on nights after closing at the restaurant, sometimes until 4:30 a.m.

“I cut out all of the fifty stars and sewed them one by one,” she said.

When she was finished she created a new flag that measured 36 feet long. Larger than its predecessor, it is surrounded by a family of other smaller American flags both at its base and inside the restaurant. Zotos said her flag has become a symbol for the community. She said that so many people got word of her sewing the huge flag, one of the fabric stores told her they had sold out of the material Zotos used to make her flag. She said her actions might have inspired others to make their own.

After three months and countless hours of labor, the flag was raised at a dedication ceremony last week. She said more than 100 people came out to see the banner raised, marking it one of the most emotional moments of her life.

Vollemer was one of six Marines who raised the flag at the 8 a.m. ceremony. He said he had no problem recruiting fellow Marines from Quantico to do the job.
“We have wonderful people here in this community,” said Elani Zotos. “It makes me proud to be apart of this country.”