Historic US flag flown after JFK assassination stolen

A historic US flag, which was flown at half-mast following the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963, has been stolen from the grounds of a school built on the site of a former US naval base.

It was removed from Foyle College, on the Limavady Road in Londonderry, in the early hours of Sunday, police have said.

The flag, which was gifted to the school by members of the former US Naval Communications Station, holds significant historical value both locally and internationally.

It was last officially flown at the base in November 1963 to mark President Kennedy's death and more than half a century later in 2019 was presented to Foyle College which had moved to the site the year before.

Since then, it has been raised on only two special occasions each year on the school grounds.

It is flown on US Independence Day (4 July) and on the anniversary of JFK's assassination (22 November).

Speaking to BBC News NI, the bursar of Foyle College, Neil Stewart, said this "is not just any old, run-of-the-mill flag" but is of "huge sentimental and historical value."

"It's not just one that was bought in a shop - that flag is the actual flag that was proudly displayed on the base."

Mr Stewart described its removal as "senseless" and appealed for its immediate return.

He said the school had recently hosted a number of special guests for a flag-raising ceremony to mark US Independence Day.

Mr Stewart said among those in attendance was Frank Ekstrom, who was stationed at the US Navy Communications Base.

He was accompanied by his son-in-law, David Duffy, as well as Elaine and Sandra Malcor.

Sandra's late husband served at the base and she also worked there.

"This flag means a lot to so many people, and it has real historical value," Mr Stewart said

"Why anyone would go out of their way to remove it makes no sense to me."

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show on Wednesday, Mr. Ekstrom said he was on Master-at-Arms duty on that fateful day in November 1963 when President Kennedy was killed and was the person who took the flag down and cared for it over many years.

"It's been in the United States, it's been in Bangladesh, and in many other places throughout the years before it was proudly flown in Derry," Mr. Ekstrom said.

"The flag, like for many people, is extremely symbolic to me."

Mr. Ekstrom said he has fond memories of being stationed in Derry and called on those responsible to "do the honourable thing" and return the flag.

The police said they received a report an American flag being flown on property on Limavady Road had been stolen during the early hours of Sunday.

"This is reported to have occurred at 04:00 BST, involving two individuals, both believed to be male," the police said.

Police have appealed for anyone with information, or who know of the whereabouts of the flag, to contact them.

The US Navy was first stationed in Derry during World War Two, a conflict in which the city played a pivotal role.

Base One Europe, the US Navy's operating base in Northern Ireland, had its headquarters on the site of the current Magee campus.

It was vital to the protection of convoys in the Atlantic and, at one time, 140 Allied escort ships were based on the River Foyle.

The US Navy maintained a presence in the city for a further four decades until the closure of the communications station in September 1977.