Carbondale Reporter

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and thousands of injuries. The events led to significant changes in security procedures across the United States.

In Benton, Illinois, a story involving current State Representative Dave Severin unfolded shortly after the attacks. According to an account originally published by Jim Muir in the Southern Illinoisan, Benton High School Athletic Director Don Smith contacted Severin seeking 40 small flags for a football game as a patriotic gesture. At the time, most businesses had sold out of flags due to high demand.

Severin operated All Stars n’ Stitches on the Benton square but was also out of stock and had been searching for more flags. About thirty minutes after Smith’s request, Severin received a call from his mother, Edna. She informed him that she had found 40 unwrapped flags among her late husband Rev. George Severin’s belongings. Rev. George Severin had died two months earlier.

Upon examining the sales ticket with the flags, Dave Severin discovered they were purchased over three decades prior and shipped from New York City on September 11, 1970—exactly 31 years before the attacks.

“Totally unbelievable,” Dave Severin said. “When I saw the date and where the flags were shipped from, I couldn’t believe it. What are the chances?” Severin has served as state representative since 2017.

The address where George and Edna lived in 1970 was 337 South Main Street in Benton—the same house where Don Smith lived on September 13, 2001, when he made his request for flags.

The number of flags found matched exactly what was needed for the event at Benton High School.

Rep. Severin reflected on these events: “I am a firm believer in God’s plan, and I believe He works in mysterious and magnificent ways,” he stated. “For a small town in Southern Illinois that was trying to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks and show pride in America to be home to this unique and mystifying story, I can’t believe it was just a coincidence.”

Severin is a Republican who was elected to represent Illinois' 116th House District in 2023, succeeding David Friess (https://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?GA=103&MemberID=3202).

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