A special American flag changing ceremony in honor of U.S. Army
Master Sgt. Thomas Maholic of Bradford, who died Saturday while
serving in Afghanistan, will take place at 2:30 p.m. today at the
main office of the American Refining Group off North Kendall
Avenue.

The announcement of the ceremony was made Tuesday by ARG
President and Chief Operating Officer Harvey Golubock.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Maholic died in
Ghecko, Afghanistan, when his patrol unit came in contact with
enemy forces using small arms fire during a cordon and search
mission.

Maholic, 38, was part of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces
Group (Airborne) of Fort Bragg, N.C.

According to information supplied by ARG, Thom Maholic is the
brother of Mike Maholic, who is a Crude Unit operator, and the son
of Bill Maholic, who worked for the refinery for 45 years before
his retirement from the Engineering Department.

Officials said the ceremony will feature the lowering of the
existing American flag at ARG; it will be replaced by one which
flew over Fire Base Ghecko – the headquarters of the former supreme
commander for the Taliban Mullah Mohammed Omar – and was presented
by the men of Thom Maholic’s Special Forces Group to the Maholic
family.

The flag will fly over ARG at the request of Mike Maholic,
according to Golubock.

According to the information supplied by ARG, the flag was
presented to Mike Maholic with the following inscription: “For well
over two centuries the American flag, representing the spirit,
values, beliefs and freedom of all Americans has flown over
battlefields around the world.”

It added the flag was flown over Firebase Ghecko in the Kandahar
Province on May 9.

“The very presence of the American flag over the compound
demonstrates America’s resolve and success in fighting
terrorism.”

Officials said the flag will be returned to the Maholic family
following the memorial service. Golubock said somebody from either
the Pennsylvania National Guard or Army will lower and raise the
flag.

In addition to serving in Afghanistan, Maholic also served two
years in Panama, among other locations. He received numerous awards
and decorations throughout his career.

In addition to today’s ceremony, there will also be a special
service in Maholic’s memory in the Bradford Area High School
gymnasium on July 7. Additional details will be provided when they
become available.