Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Peacock
Hi Andrew, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, my Grandpa and the pastor of our church instilled in us to have a servant’s heart. My Grandpa served in the Airforce, and then served God. He also enjoyed wood working. I can remember he had an entire woodshop in the garage in the backyard. When I graduated high school, I joined the US Navy and served on the USS Ronald Reagan which only encouraged me to devote my life to serve. After I got out of the Navy, I was missing something, so I went back and joined the Army. Once I got out of the Army, I became an EMT where I continued to serve and my passion for helping people only grew stronger. Not long after becoming an EMT, President Biden ordered the withdrawal from Afghanistan resulting in the deaths of 13 of our service members with one of them being local. This is when my focus began to shift from just helping people to helping and being there for the families of our nations fallen heroes and our veterans. I felt so compelled to do something for the family of fallen Marine LCPL Jared Schmitz. I then decided to take what my grandpa taught me and build a wooden flag and customize. Once I completed the flag, I stopped at nothing to get in touch with Mark Schmitz who is the father of Jared. I found a mutual friend who was willing to put me in contact with him and next thing you know, we are standing in the parking lot of a circle k gas station talking. Once I presented the flag to him, he hugged me and this is when I knew I was doing the right thing. After Mark told me so much about his son, he asked me if I was going to make the flags for the other families. This is when I came up with the idea to start a nonprofit Flags For The Fallen with two things in mind, showing these families that their loved ones, their heroes will never be forgotten and to be there for the ones who made it home because like me, they need all of the support and love and encouragement possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not necessarily been a smooth road. Lots of time goes in to making the flags, the biggest struggle is the time I have to take from my family to continue to push forward and reach my goals. Besides having to miss time with my family, I have had to overcome a huge obstacle of reaching out and getting in touch with people that I do not know. Since I struggle with PTSD, this is not easy for me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I was an EMT with goals of becoming a paramedic but I was injured on the job. I changed my career at that point and went to school to learn to train dogs so that I can eventually train service dogs, so besides the nonprofit, I work with dogs. There are several things that I am most proud of. I am very proud of the nonprofit, I came up with the idea, I design the flags, I build the flags and I do all of the graphics. There are a lot of people and businesses that do the same thing and present the flags to the families but usually before I complete a flag, I take the time to learn about the hero I am honoring to make the flag more special to the family. I am also very proud of the fact that last year, I took the leap and started learning how to train service dogs so that at some point, I can train these dogs and donate them to veterans that need one.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
On top of running a non-profit, I also have a large family with my 5th child being born in february of this year.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://flagsforthefallen.net
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/flagsftfallen
