Posted on 12/02/2005 2:54:36 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) -- The Kodiak post office is heralding a man they call a local good Samaritan.
When Dawn Acosta, officer-in-charge at the post office, arrived for work Monday morning, Old Glory was missing from the flagpole.
"We go out Monday morning, and where's the flag?" Acosta recounted.
Her first thought was marauding teenagers, but then she found the American flag neatly folded into a tidy triangle with a note explaining its absence from the flagpole.
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It seems over the weekend the rusty pulley on the flagpole snapped in severe winds. The American flag tumbled to the ground and lay in the parking lot.
Then Riley Morton came along.
The flag appeared to have been run over four or five times, Morton said. As he parked his car, he saw two more vehicles run over it.
"There was no excuse for people driving over it. It was really obvious it was the American flag," said Morton, a Vietnam veteran. "I have too much respect for what it means to allow that to happen."
The son of a World War II veteran, Morton served with 75th Infantry as an airborne ranger. He said he lost more than 100 friends in combat. Eleven buddies remain missing in action.
"They died for that flag," he said. "It means something to me. It means something to a lot of my friends. Maybe it doesn't mean anything to the people who drove over it, but that's beside the point."
Shaking his head that people could have so little respect for the flag, Morton picked up the soiled symbol and brought it home to clean it.
Acosta called to thank him and speaks of Morton with admiration.
"He's a war hero so if anyone was good to find it, it was definitely him," Acosta said.
"We just wanted to say thank you, for him to do that," she added.
Acosta said she saw no damage to the flag, which is back on display.
Mr. Morton, I salute you. Thank you for your service, then and now.
Six or more drove right over it.
"Shaking his head that people could have so little respect for the flag"
Doing the same thing here. Thank you Mr. Morton.
BTTT!
Nice story
Why was the flag flying at night?
Good question. I have no idea if it was illuminated.
I wonder if he got the license tags of the cars that ran down the flag?
D'oh! It's Kodiak. Round this time of year, night means a lot more.
I would have expected nothing less from someone who lived by the Creed.
RLTW
Rangers lead the way! Thank you.
It's not too difficult to see the difference between a real American and just a temp...
BTTT for an American Patriot.
Rangers Lead the Way!!!
The national flag code supposedly forbids the cleaning of a flag, which has struck me as a silly provision that should be taken out (inasmuch as the cleaning does not result in noticeable wear or fading).
I spent a few years in Fairbanks.
Um... Please excuse my ignorance, but aren't you still supposed to burn a flag that has touched the ground? We tri-fold and save our old ones until we find someone that is going to be doing a nice, respectful burning ceremony for them.
I just wonder if the Post Office should still be displaying this flag.
Or did I mistake what was said and the flag is not back on the pole, but displayed inside the building?
I thought you were able to wash a flag. I could well be mistaken though.
What do you do with an asbestos flag?
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