I build veteran burial flag cases and I sell them in my Etsy store.  Recently, I got a call from a guy in Denver asking me to build a very special case.  His father recently  passed and his father was a WW II vet.  He had served in North Africa with Patton and was quite proud of that fact.  So proud that he requested that he be buried in a casket built from African mahogany.  The son called to ask if I would build a flag case from African mahogany for the flag that draped his casket.  Thanks to Frank Miller Lumber I was able to find quarter-sawn African mahogany and provide the case.  Here’s the case.

Beautifully done, Ron.

Beautiful Ron.  It is good looking wood too.

Wow, what a story Ron! He was probably one of the last Patton veterans on earth by now. You honored the recipient perfectly, a good solid case to showcase the flag, I've seen many flag cases where the woodworker forgets that it's not about the woodworking, it's about what's inside, and your designs are perfect.

Beautiful flag case and a stark reminder of the walnut I have set aside for my Father's flag. That walnut is from Monticello and was a very old tree when someone in authority decided that Thomas Jefferson stood at a particular spot and looked down at the University of Virginia in which he had a very active role in building. There was this walnut tree now blocking the view so they had it cut down. Fortunately my Father-in-Law, a self taught woodworker,  was very good friends with the gentleman that got that contract and ended up with a fair amount of wood.

 

I really need to nail down those plans and finally build this important flag case. He retired at 65 and was gone by 68. Of course being me, I shook things up when we moved from NJ to Va in 1961 and was telling my teachers that my Father was a Black Panther, The Black Panther Division. A very big regret was not securing his books fro the Army. One was a formal journal, like a year book, of his unit while the other was more laid back with random pictures of his unit both in the field and informal pictures. These were lost over the years.

Very nicely done Ron.  Thanks for sharing.   Danl

Excellent Ron. A very befitting memorial tribute. Thanks for the background story too. Makes the project so much more meaningful. Well done all-around.

Beautiful case, Ron. A fitting tribute for one of America's Greatest Generation.

Beautiful case, Ron.  The African Mahogany looks great, so good on you for finding the quartersawn boards.

Great job! And what a story to go with it too!