A Scripps Ranch couple whose large American flag was stolen from their property despite the wife's desperate efforts received a replacement Monday morning, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.
Captain Rich McDaniel of the U.S.S. Sterett gave Tim Curran, a San Diego County Sheriff's Department captain, and his wife Debby a new flag at Naval Base San Diego and a tour of the decomissioned guided missile cruiser.
On July 5, at about 3 a.m., Debby Curran rose from bed upon hearing a dog bark. She then saw a man stealing the flag the family has hung outside their home every Fourth of July for 12 years.
She ran after the suspect to his SUV but suffered scrapes and bruises when the driver sped away, throwing her to the pavement.
The stolen flag was about the size of a two-car garage and was a gift from the command master chief of the U.S.S. Sterett. It also flew on the ship during a Haiti mission.
Fittingly, the Currans' new flag was flown on the fourth and latest ship to be named after Andrew Sterret. The master commandant served the United States during an undeclared sea war with France in 1798-1880.
The Currans also exchanged U.S. Navy and Sheriff's Department items with the ship's command staff.
