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Haddonfield to honor John Dramesi

Haddonfield wrestlers have been wearing a replica of a special American flag on their singlets this season.

    by Phil Anastasia, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
    Published 

Haddonfield wrestlers have been wearing a replica of a special American flag on their singlets this season.

On Saturday, they will get to meet the man who fashioned that flag.

Haddonfield will honor retired U.S. Air Force Col. John Dramesi, a former wrestler and Vietnam War POW, at Saturday's 10 a.m. match against Buena in the Bulldogs' gymnasium.

Dramesi, 79, and his brother Leonard were members of Haddonfield's first wrestling team, in 1949.

John Dramesi was a POW at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp after his fighter jet was shot down in 1967. One of his fellow prisoners was U.S. Sen. John McCain.

During his time in captivity, Dramesi made an American flag out of cloth he gathered from fellow POWs. He smuggled that flag out, and it is on display at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @PhilAnastasia. Read his blog, "Jersey Side Sports," at www.philly.com/jerseysidesports
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    Phil Anastasia, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
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