COLDSPRING, Texas – Matthew Law is a Boy Scout looking to become an Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout project, he decided to get people in his community together to send small American flags to the troops serving in Iraq.

Law gathered more than 900 flags, each containing a special message from people within the community. It was enough to give to an entire division. It should be noted, the total population of the San Jacinto County town of Coldspring is just a little more than 600.

One of those small flags ended up in the pocket of Sgt. Wesley Drake. Drake took the flag and placed it in his front pocket, so he could keep it near to his heart.

He said whenever he would pull it, out it reminded him of home and country.

One day, looking for some inspiration, he pulled the flag out and read the message someone from Coldspring had written. To his surprise, the message was not from some stranger, but rather someone near and dear to him.

11 News reporter Jeremy Desel has more on the story of how one soon-to-be Eagle Scout’s project went a long way to embolden a member of the armed services during a time of war.