SACKETS HARBOR — In 1982, Werner J. Steinaker received an American flag that flew on the Navy destroyer named after his brother.

Since then, Mr. Steinaker has flown the flag on his personal sailboat every Memorial Day and Fourth of July. This year, Mr. Steinaker, Watertown, is retiring from boating because of his advancing age, but friend Richard L. Germain, Oswego, will carry on the tradition.

Mr. Steinaker's brother, Marine Pfc. Donald B. Steinaker of Syracuse, was killed in action Oct. 9, 1942, on an island in the western Pacific Ocean during the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.

Pfc. Steinaker was posthumously awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Cross for his heroism at Guadalcanal. The Navy Cross is the second-highest medal that can be awarded by the Department of the Navy and the second-highest award given for valor.

The letter about Pfc. Steinaker's Navy Cross from the then-Secretary of the Navy says: "For extraordinary heroism while serving with the First Marine Raider Battalion in action against enemy Japanese forces in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on October 8-9, 1942. When his Battalion moved into a defensive position along the Matanikau River, Private First Class Steinaker and other members of his platoon bore the brunt of the heavy enemy assault against their hastily prepared positions."

Pfc. Steinaker and his platoon were attacked by about 150 Japanese soldiers, but he refused to leave his post and "heroically died at his post," the letter reads.

In 1945, Mr. Steinaker was stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the Air Force when he received word that a 2,200-ton destroyer would be named after his brother.

Mr. Steinaker's sister, Carol, who was 16 at the time, was at the commissioning of the USS Steinaker, which was the largest and most powerful destroyer of its kind.

In February 1982, it was taken out of commission. This time, Mr. Steinaker was there.

"The captain took me to the back of the boat and motioned to his troops to leave," Mr. Steinaker said. "When they came back, they had the flag folded up and the captain handed it to me. I was speechless. It's a distinctive flag from a distinctive ship. So I fly on all national holidays. You could either keep it hidden in a desk drawer or fly it. So I fly it."

For the last 26 years, the flag has flown on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July at Navy Point Marine in Sackets Harbor.

"It was such an outstanding ship that I knew I had to fly it," Mr. Steinaker said. "I always made sure I put on a little show of raising the flag so that everyone knew the story."

This year, Mr. Steinaker, 87, said his age and health caused him retire from boating.

"I reluctantly had to give up boating," he said.

When Mr. Germain, who has been friends with Mr. Steinaker for more than 25 years, heard that his friend could no longer fly the flag, he offered to do it for him.

"I heard the story of the flag and I thought it would be an honor to run it up my boat for him," Mr. Germain said. "I was just so impressed by the story. I mean, you don't just get a ship named after you. So it's a really special honor to fly this flag for them. It's really in honor of his brother."

The flag flew on Mr. Germain's sailboat, Empty Pockets, for the first time on Memorial Day and will continue to fly on every "patriotic holiday" in Sackets Harbor, Mr. Germain said. When the flag is not flying on Mr. Germain's boat, Mr. Steinaker will store the flag.

After the flag flew on Memorial Day, Mr. Germain noticed that it had sustained a lot of wind damage over the years. With Mr. Steinaker's permission, Mr. Germain re-stitched the edges of the flag so it could continue to fly in glory.