Seminole’s American Legion Post 204 is honoring Orlando C. Gatzke with a special flag at Veteran’s Park in downtown Seminole. This flag began flying May 1 and will remain for the entire month of May.

Gatzke was born in Colony Oklahoma, located in Washita County, on Jan. 13, 1925 to Fred and Mary Gatzke. He has two brothers, Pete and Calvin, and one sister, Albertina. He has living relatives in the Earlsboro area.

Gatzke enlisted in the armed forces in Jan. 1943 and was wounded in action by an artillery shell. He died of his wounds on Aug. 3, 1944 and was buried in the Ft. Gibson Nation Cemetery.

The local American Legion post honors a veteran every month by flying a flag in their honor. The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service-members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.

Today, Legion membership stands at nearly 2 million in more than 13,000 posts world-wide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.