Commander presents flag to Missouri governor
Col. Steve Arthur, left, presents Missouri Governor Matt Blunt with an American flag flown on a combat mission over Afghanistan and certificate following a bill-signing ceremony in Warrensburg, Mo., June 11, 2008. Colonel Arthur is the commander of the 442nd Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve Command A-10 unit based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The presentation also included two patches and a replica 30-millimeter bullet, which is fired from the gun mounted on the front of the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Governor Blunt visited Warrensburg to sign Missouri House Bill 1678, which provided education relief to children of military members in Missouri. In 2006 Governor Blunt visited deployed members of the 442nd Fighter Wing in Afghanistan and presented them with a Missouri state flag, which was flown over the flightline during that deployment. The flag presented to the governor was flown in an A-10 on Sept. 11, 2006, five years after the attack on the World Trade Center buildings in New York and on the Pentagon. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jessica Snow)