Family Heartbroken As Veteran's American Flag Accidentally Sold At Bridgewater Estate Sale

Update: After the article was published and posts were shared on social media, the flag has since been found.

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Stored inside a wooden and glass keepsake case, the American flag was one of the only sentimental pieces Colleen Lange had left of her deceased veteran father. Now she is trying to get it back after it was accidentally sold at an estate sale in Bridgewater.

Lange's father was a U.S. Army veteran who died of cancer in 1998 at the age of 60. At the time of his death, Lange's mother was given the flag as part of the ceremonial burial.

"It was a comfortable constant in her home, along with lots of other memories from their life and marriage of 36 years," said Lange, who lives in Bedminster.

On Sept. 24, 2021, Lange's mother died, leaving her and her three siblings with the task of cleaning out and selling her home.

It was a "huge, sad, overwhelming task," said Lange.

In her many trips to her mom’s house at 474 Somerville Road in Bridgewater, Lange would remove anything personal, financial or sentimental that they didn't want sold.

However, on her last pass-through of the house on Jan. 20, she missed the flag, which sat on top of a bookcase in the living room.

The sale started on Jan. 21, but Lange didn't think of the flag until that night when she immediately texted the man who ran the sale.

Lange was told the flag had been sold to "a local Veteran."

"Crushed and crying (unable to believe he’d sell something that was obviously sentimental without confirming it with us), I asked him for any details about the man or his intentions with the flag in the hopes that I could find him and get my Dad’s flag back," said Lange.

Lange reached out to the Thomas J. Kavanaugh VFW Post and American Legion Post 12 but had no luck.

The veteran who purchased the flag is described as 6-foot 2-inches tall, white hair, a Vietnam hat, with many pins on his jacket. He was further described as a "very nice guy."

"While that narrows the pool of potential Veterans, unfortunately, it hasn’t been much help," said Lange. "So, here we are… missing my Dad, missing my Mom, and missing a piece of our family history."

If anyone has any information on the veteran or the whereabouts of the American flag, they should call or text Lange at 908-451-5542.

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