A rare D-Day flag that flew on a U.S. Navy ship leading the allied advance at the beaches of Normandy nearly 75 years ago will be returned to America after going on display in the Netherlands on Feb. 4.
The 48-star “Normandy” flag was on the U.S. Navy’s LCC 60, one of just three advanced fleet vessels directing troops onto Utah Beach in German-occupied France on June 6, 1944.
Howard Vander Beek, who commanded the vessel as a Navy lieutenant, kept the flag throughout the war, brought it home and kept it in his basement until he died in 2014. It was sold at auction by his family two years later and bought by Dutch collector Bert Kreuk for $514,000.
U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, Piete Hoekstra said: “Vander Beek, you know, carried it in his backpack across, I guess, significant parts of Europe until the end of the war. They’re all special, this one maybe is a little bit more unique.”
Now the current owner of the flag, Kreuk, wants to donate it to America and hopes that President Donald Trump will come to pick it up in the Netherlands. Kreuk said: “It was pierced by German machine gun bullets and ripped by the wind. The flag will be going home.
“It’s like a historical document and you can see it right here in front of us.”
Ambassador Hoekstra said he has discussed the flag with high-level U.S. government officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
‘Super Sick Monday’
A record number of people were expected to call out sick from work on Feb. 4, according to a survey from the workforce institute.The Monday after the super bowl is known as “Super Sick Monday.” This year, the survey estimates 17.2 million people may miss work.
Dr. Mehmet Oz said: “I think the bigger problem is that folks get all riled up about it. Then they start breaking their usual rules of behaviour. They have a little too much to drink.”
He says avoiding super bowl fever is easy with a few simple rules: “If you make your own food you know what’s in there. A lot of these snacks are actually reasonably healthy for you if you pay attention to it. Never drink two beverages of alcohol back-to-back, always have a glass of water in-between. That'll knock out the hangover issue.”
Chinese Farm Races Hogs Ahead of the Year of the Pig
10 racing pigs at a Chinese farm are put through a training session ahead of their last race during Chinese New Year.The 10 racing pigs at Zhangjiakou Green Island Holiday Farm are only around 3 months old. But they are already approaching retirement. Soon, they will no longer be able to fit through the obstacles, one of the race track workers explained.
In a pig race, the piglets will be numbered and spectators will be invited to “guess” which one will be the winner by using an app. By “guessing” correctly, spectators will gain points which they can use to buy products, including organic and free-range produce from the farm.
