Disclaimer: All photographs in this post are used with the permission of The Honor Network.
We, The Rambling Quilter, are proud owners of a Grand Design 2019 Solitude 385GK and have met so many amazing fellow RVers while traveling and going to Grand Design Rallies. It was at the 2022 National Rally and the 2023 Tennessee Rally that we were introduced to Chris and Cindy Heisler, and their philanthropic venture – The United States Honor Flag.
What is The Honor Flag?
In September 2001, Chris Heisler was given an American flag and a Texas flag by the Texas House of Representatives as a way of thanking him for his philanthropic efforts with First Responders while working in the energy industry.
This was just after 9/11. Chris was drawn to take action and took it upon himself to take these flags to Ground Zero. He helped organize the nation’s largest convoy of First Responders ever. As he and others made their way to Ground Zero, they collected tokens of support to take to our nation’s heroes. While attending two wakes in New York and New Jersey, Chris observed officers and firefighters ripping off the patches from their uniforms to leave behind for the survivors.
Chris felt compelled to leave something as well. He grabbed the two flags from his vehicle and placed them on the table. He was then approached by the wife of one of the Port Authority Officers. She told him that her husband had been “vaporized” in the attacks. She challenged Chris to keep the American flag because she was worried that the spirit of patriotism would go away and people would forget.
Chris left the Texas flag behind and took the American flag with him, along with a commitment to that survivor that he would make sure Americans never forgot the sacrifice of our Heroes on that horrific day in our nation’s history.
Thus, The United States Honor Flag was born.
The Journey
Chris then enlisted in the Army in 2003 at the age of 34. He took The Honor Flag with him to the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. After being injured in Iraq, Chris and The Honor Flag returned home.
Since September 11, 2007, The Honor Flag has been requested to be present at countless funerals of fallen officers, firefighters, and service members around the country.
As of this date, The Honor Flag has traveled over 7 million miles, by ground, air, and even on NASA’s last space shuttle mission. All this is made possible through donations.
United Airlines is the official airline of The Honor Network United States Honor Flag. Every time The Honor Flag needs to get to a location quickly, an Honor Guard brings the Flag to the aircraft. Another Honor Guard is waiting at the destination airport to escort the Flag in its protective case off of the aircraft.
For land travel, The Honor Flag is transported in InspirationONE, Chris and Cindy’s 2018 Grand Design Momentum 395M. They also use InspirationONE as a learning tool to teach others the importance of their mission to Never Forget.
Reverence and Integrity
There is only one Honor Flag. Its mission is to remind all Americans that we must “Never Forget” our commitment to America’s Heroes. Custom white gloves with USHF embroidered on them in blue are used to handle the flag and are given to the surviving family members. No bare hands ever handle the flag, and each pair of gloves only handles the flag one time.
The “Hero” gloves, a second set of USHF embroidered gloves, are worn by the fallen Hero, upon the approval of the family. These gloves are also white, however, the embroidery is white and they never touch the flag.
Each time The Honor Flag is presented, a rifle team perfects a 3 volley salute to honor the fallen Hero. The team is gifted a set of USHF “Founders” gloves, which are black with gold lettering. As with the Hero gloves, these never touch The Honor Flag.
The Mission
“The Honor NetworkTM, a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization, was founded on the conviction that every person who is committed in service to our communities and country deserves the support of every single American, and that an increase in American patriotism is vital in keeping our great nation united.
The Honor Network United States Honor Flag
The United States Honor Flag is one American flag that has traveled millions of miles since 9/11. The United States Honor Flag has traveled to the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan, traveled aboard the last space shuttle launch in 2011 and has honored thousands of American Heroes in Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS, and members of the U.S. Armed Forces.”
How You Can Help
Chris and Cindy Heisler have used their own money to continue this important work, and they also rely on donations to support The Honor Network United States Honor Flag.
I encourage you to go to United States Honor Flag to learn more about their mission and to donate. Follow them on social media at
- Facebook – The United State Honor Flag
- Youtube – @theunitedstateshonorflag
- Instagram – @ushf1
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/UnitedStatesHF
- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/unitedstateshonorflag/
For more information, please also check out https://gdrv4life.granddesignrv.com/users/honor-network.
We’re Mike & Jennifer Skinnell, and together we are The Rambling Quilter. We travel the country full-time in our 41ft. fifth-wheel pulled by our F-350 – affectionately named Beauty & The Beast. Mike still works part-time, and Jennifer writes our blog, travel articles, and contemporary fiction. Our blog is purely for information and entertainment purposes. However, if you’d like to support Jennifer’s writing career, her author link is below.