Members of The Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Company were joined on Saturday afternoon by Joseph and Barbara Havranek to place rows of American flags on both sides of the David Theis Memorial Bridge.
Cos Cob Vol Fire Department Assistant Chief Billy Ingraham with Joseph and Barbara Havranek with American flags to install on the Dave Theis Bridge connecting Cos Cob to Riverside on Putnam Ave. Contributed photo
The flags are installed in time for Memorial Day and will remain in place until Veterans Day.
Since the Dave Theis Memorial Bridge Dedication ceremony in 2015, The Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Company annually coronates, commissions, and decommissions the flags.
According to Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Billy Ingraham, Joe and Barbara Havranek have generously donated the funds to purchase the flags, poles and hardware for the last eight years.
Joe and Barbara are both United States Air Force Veterans, and Joe is also a retired Greenwich Police Officer.
Assistant Chief Ingraham explained that Joe and Barbara are actively involved in many local non profits and are always willing to help when called upon.
Just this month the Havraneks were honored by the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich with the Community Impact Volunteers award.
During COVID, they prepared meals at St. Mary’s Church, to feed adults facing homelessness at Covenant House.
In 2021, they were honored by Neighbor to Neighbor for putting others before themselves.
“They are great friends of our Fire Company, and the entire town, and for that we say thank both of you for your service to this country and our community,” Ingraham said.
Every May as the flags go up, cars and trucks honk their horns in approval, but not everyone may have known Greenwich Selectman Dave Theis who was the driving force behind the flag tradition on the bridge.
Each spring Mr. Theis, in collaboration with Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Company, would erect 10 flags on each side of the bridge, where they served as a symbol of patriotism from Memorial day until Veterans day.
Whether fishing from beneath the bridge, or from a passing car, there is no bad view of the proud flags.
After Mr. Theis died suddenly in December 2014, the bridge and the annual flag display, took on added meaning, and a movement grew to name the bridge in his honor.
In May 2015, the bridge was named “Honorable David N. Theis Memorial Bridge.”
