AMSTERDAM - New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Eduardo Ortiz visited the Centro Civico offices in the city Wednesday morning to present the organization a flag that he flew in its honor Jan. 16 while he was serving in Iraq.

Ortiz, an Amsterdam police officer, served as a Blackhawk helicopter door gunner on two tours of duty in Iraq.

In a message to Centro Civico Executive Director Ladan Alomar, Ortiz wrote: "Your staff has been doing an awesome job helping our community. Since I know that you and your staff sometimes go unnoticed, I wanted to do something."