Vietnam vet praised for rescuing post office flag

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ^ | Dec 1, 8:06 PM EST | KRISTEN INBODY

[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.

[Lurker]

Flag Courtesy

L

[LIConFem]

I was only there for two weeks, but I had a great time. I stayed at the Fairbanks Explorer, drove up to Circle and back, did a lot of shopping (I actually bought a few skins from a fur trader :o)) and even hopped aboard one of Larry's Flying Service's flights up & down the Yukon (just for giggles).

In any case, I love AK. If I didn't have so much family here in the NE, I'd move in a heartbeat!

[Jet Jaguar]

Three years for me. I loved it and will get back there as soon as I can.

[Jet Jaguar]

Thanks for the link. But I could not find any provision for cleaning a flag. I did see the part about a flag should never touch the ground or water.

[nicko]

got your six, dawg1, liberfighter...

[GAB-1955]

I used to work for a dry cleaner who immigrated from a Middle Eastern tyranny. He would dry-clean American flags for no charge.

[michigander]

He would dry-clean American flags for no charge.

Same here when I work for a local cleaners.

US Code
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 1—THE FLAG

[PeteB570]

That statue of the Infantry guy with his arm raised down at Fort Benning. The one where he is saying "Follow me."

The rest of the sentence is "I'm right behind the Engineers." :-).

[armydawg1]

har har har........damned mine detectors! :0)