Post-tornado: An American flag then and now

Woodridge resident Mark Kasper says he's a "wave-the-American-flag-365" kind of guy.

So when he returned Monday to fully assess the tornado damage to his house, Kasper made it a point to retrieve an important family heirloom: the folded American flag of his late grandfather, World War II Army veteran John Kasper.

"All his medals are safe with my brother," said Kasper, who added his grandfather was awarded a Purple Heart, a Medal of Honor, and that he had fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Kasper also made sure to repair the tornado-damaged flag that was flying outside his house.

"Call it symbolic, but the old flag was literally just hanging by a thread," Kasper said. "I needed it fixed before we started the cleanup."