Museum says it plans to remove American flag

Volunteers will remove colors from the display, saying they had no reason to believe ex-American Legion commander was not telling truth

A U.S. flag neatly folded and encased in the military room of Antioch's museum ended up there because, as the story went, it was draped around an Army soldier as he climbed on a helicopter from atop the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

He was among the last American troops to leave Vietnam, he said, and brought the flag that kept him company during combat home with him.

The precious possession was later presented with great fanfare to the Antioch Historical Society during a Vietnam Veterans Appreciation barbecue fundraiser nine years ago, on the cusp of the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

“We were so excited about it at the time. It seemed like a really good deal,” recalled Laura Jacques, a longtime volunteer and past president of the Antioch Historical Society.

But the flag will now be removed from the wing of the museum where other decorated Antioch soldiers' keepsakes are on display after records show it was probably never in Vietnam, and neither was the man who claimed to carry it.

Military records obtained by this newspaper show the flag-bearing former U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Thomas Greenawalt was stationed in Germany, working as a desk clerk during the Vietnam War.

While the records from the National Archives and Records Administration do not show the complete personnel file on his service from 1972 to 1985, not up

“He told a story that he had the flag around his neck when he left and got out of there. It was one of the last flags (to leave Vietnam).”

— Bill Fraga, former Antioch Historical Society Museum volunteer and veteran

for debate are historical records that say the U.S. Marines — not Army troops — were the last combat soldiers to evacuate the embassy by helicopter on April 30, 1975.

Greenawalt did not return calls or emails for comment. The longtime Antioch resident moved to a nearby county several years ago, available public records show.

But veterans and local historians who remember the lead up to the April 2015 barbecue fundraiser — which was documented by this news organization — are now feeling a mixture of emotions over the new revelations.

Former museum volunteer and veteran Bill Fraga remembers being caught off-guard by the donation at the time,

ARIC CRABB — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER J.R. Wilson , the president and founder of Delta Veterans Group, is reflected in the display case of an American flag at the Antioch Historical Museum on Wednesday. The flag was given to the museum by veteran Michael Thomas Greenawalt, who claimed he was one of the last service members to leave Vietnam and donated the flag he carried out.

PHOTO BY VICTORIA SHERIDAN Former U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Thomas Greenawalt of Antioch salutes during the 2015 color guard ceremony at an Antioch Historical Society Museum ceremony.