Flags for Vets Raises Poles for 18 Caldwell Veterans

Volunteers with Warren Burch's Flags for Vets program installed flagpoles at no charge on Driving Lane in Caldwell, Idaho.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Military

Photograph of a single tall American flagpole in a dry front lawn under a wide pale-blue high-desert sky, flag snapping in the breeze. — Volunteers with Warren Burch's Flags for Vets program installed free flagpoles for 18 veterans on Driving Lane in Caldwell, Idaho. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Warren Burch's Flags for Vets program installed American flagpoles for 18 veterans on Driving Lane in Caldwell, Idaho. The program provides the poles at no cost to veterans.

Why it matters

The program aims to recognize local veterans and fill a gap Burch saw in Canyon County communities that lacked a similar service. Veterans who received flagpoles have begun volunteering to install them for others.

Flags for Vets installed flagpoles for 18 veterans on Driving Lane, with materials donated or discounted by Lowe's and Home Depot. Warren Burch, who served 20 years in the Navy before retiring in 1982, leads the volunteer crews.

The players

Flags for Vets

A volunteer program that installs American flagpoles at veterans' homes at no charge, operating in Canyon County, Idaho.

Warren Burch

A retired Navy veteran who served 20 years and founded the Canyon County Flags for Vets program after reading about a similar effort.

The details

Volunteers Warren Burch, Gene Clements and Randy Jensen dig holes, level poles and raise American flags on Mondays and Wednesdays. Frank McCrady, a former U.S. Army Special Forces veteran stationed in Okinawa, Japan, received the first flagpole and now volunteers with the crew.

Late 2024: Burch read about a similar program in the Star newspaper.
This past year: Canyon County's Flags for Vets program began.
Wednesday: Flagpoles were installed for 18 veterans on Driving Lane.

Military Context

Canyon County's program follows a model first reported by the Star newspaper in late 2024 and extends it to veterans in Caldwell, Nampa and Middleton. Its volunteer-driven installs bring that approach to communities the earlier coverage did not reach.

Veterans in Caldwell, Nampa and Middleton can request a no-cost flagpole for their home through the program. Volunteers install the poles on scheduled weekday crews.

The takeaway

A no-cost flagpole can be a simple way for a neighborhood to honor its veterans. Residents interested in the program can contact local volunteers to ask about eligibility.