A Pella Christian High School football coach recognized the school’s community for their efforts while he was deployed overseas.

Daniel Lehigh presented an American flag to the football team that was flown over the American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 24th, 2016, while he was serving in the U.S. Army Reserve. Lehigh tells KNIA/KRLS News a program through the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he was serving jointly with at the time, allows those in the service to bring home two flags that have flown at a military facility–in this case an embassy.

Lehigh chose the Pella Christian Football team and his church based on support he received while he was serving overseas. An assistant coach with the high school football team, he was thankful for the support he received from the players and coaches.

“When you leave and you’re gone for a long period of time, you’ve got a lot of things going on–you’ve got family back home and anything could break at anytime and you’re like “how am I going to handle all of this when I’m gone?” he says. “At any point, I knew that if I needed it I could have my wife call the football team or my church and I’d get someone to help out with whatever I needed when I was gone.”

Lehigh thanks Coach Rich Kacmarynski, his staff, and the members of the 2016 and 2017 football teams at Pella Christian High School for a care package that was sent over during his stay in Iraq.