Wendi Hurd, a human resources employee in Jenkinsville, South Carolina, keeps a special memento in her office: a U.S. flag that had flown on a combat mission in Afghanistan.

The flag was a gift from members of a special operations group who wanted to thank Hurd and members of her chapter of Women in Nuclear, a national organization for people who work in nuclear- and radiation-related fields, for the cards and notes they sent to the troops last spring. Hurd, who is the chair of the Women in Nuclear chapter, says the group adopted the platoon as part of an outreach effort to support the men and women in the U.S. military. The members of the Women in Nuclear at Westinghouse wrote thank-you cards and notes to the platoon, and let the troops know they were in the thoughts and prayers of the group.

A few months after the notes had been sent off, Hurd received an email from an Army staff sergeant attached to the platoon thanking her and the other members of the Women in Nuclear group for the cards. In the email, the sergeant told Hurd how much the cards meant to the troops. Not only did the sergeant send an email of gratitude, he told Hurd the platoon wanted to send the Women in Nuclear group a thank you gift: a U.S. flag that had flown in a combat mission in Afghanistan.

“It was an incredible gift,” Hurd says. “It really puts into place the sacrifices made by the men and women who protect our freedoms.”

The flag had flown on a Lockheed AC-130U Spooky gunship during a special operations combat mission over Afghanistan in August.

When the flag arrived at Westinghouse and was presented, Hurd says the members of the Women in Nuclear group were overwhelmed, and teared up in appreciation. The fact that the troops serving in a combat theater took time to thank the Women in Nuclear chapter was overwhelming. The flag came with an inscription that identified when and where the flag was flown and that it was flown in honor of the Women in Nuclear group.

Some of the members of the group are veterans or are have military veterans in their family and they were “filled with pride,” Hurd says.

“You can get the feeling how everyone felt seeing that and reading that,” Hurd says.

Hurd’s Women in Nuclear chapter has participated in multiple outreach projects over the years, but received few thank yous from the recipients. But Hurd doesn’t mind.

“That’s kind of how charity is supposed to work,” she says. “To be thanked like this though, that was really special.”

The exchange of flags and thank yous was not the end of the relationship between the Women in Nuclear group and the troops in Afghanistan. At Christmastime, the group sent to Bagram 16 care packages filled with toiletries, snacks, magazines and other sundries.

“We wanted to send them boxes filled with goodies,” Hurd says.

In addition to supporting the troops, the South Carolina Women in Nuclear group at Westinghouse participated in other outreach programs, such as a Toys for Tots toy drive and food drives. Hurd says the group goes into overdrive during the holidays in order to provide a little extra for those who don’t have enough. The group is looking for its next outreach project.

Hurd says her Women in Nuclear chapter has received several awards and certificates for its outreach work.

“We like to stick with the community outreach projects,” she says. “We want to leave a positive imprint on the community here.”