A historic American flag originally flown at half-mast to mark the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 has been stolen from a Derry school on the site of a former US naval base.
Foyle College, which originally occupied two sites on the Duncreggan Road and Northland Road, relocated to a £27m campus on the Limavady Road in 2018.
The new site was home to a US naval communication station between 1943 and 1977 – the oldest such base in Europe at the time of its closing.
It was later turned into a British army barracks.
A memorial to the former station was unveiled in the grounds in 2019, complete with the base’s 50m-tall flag pole.
The original Star-Spangled Banner was also gifted to the school at the time by the base’s alumni association. It last flew at half-mast on the site in 1963 when JFK was assassinated, before it was taken down that day and retired.
The original flag has since flown at the school twice a year – to mark the anniversary of JFK’s passing (November 22) and to coincide with US Independence Day on July 4.
The annual ceremony is attended by members of the school alongside Frank Ekstrom, who was stationed at the former base.
However, the flag was removed from the grounds of the school over the weekend.
In a message on its Facebook page, Foyle College say: “At 4:00 am on Sunday morning, sadly, our American flag was removed from our school’s flag pole.
“This flag is of huge sentimental value to Foyle College, as it was handed to us to honour all who served at the US Navy Communications Base.
“We are appealing for the American flag to be returned to Foyle College and for local residents to please check around their properties/bins.”
Speaking to The Irish News, the school’s head of history, Melanie Dougherty, said the flag was “historically significant” to both the school and the city. “It’s not just some random Star-Spangled Banner that was bought in 2019,” Ms Dougherty said.
“It actually was the flag that properly flew on the base.
“That Naval Communications Base, it was the place that all the really important Cold War messages went though, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“We really hope that someone speaks out and tells us where it is and realises the historical significance of it so that we can keep it for the generations to come.”
A PSNI spokesperson said that they had received a report that an American flag being flown on property on the Limavady Road had been stolen during the early hours of Sunday, July 6.
“This is reported to have occurred at 4am, involving two individuals, both believed to be male,” they added.
The police have urged anyone with information to contact them on 101.
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