Sheriff's Deputy Captured on Camera Saving American Flag That Was Touching the Ground
A deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri has inspired Americans across the country to do what is right even when nobody is watching.
Deputy Brandon McElroy was driving through his patrol area in Avondale, Missouri, on March 15 after a storm had ripped through the region.
McElroy drove down a familiar street and noticed that a flag pole in a homeowner’s yard had broken and the American flag that typically waved high in the air was now partially touching the ground.
McElroy, who served for 7 1/2 years with the Air Force Reserve, could not bear to leave the flag in a fallen state.
He stopped his car and walked into the yard, not knowing that the homeowner had a Ring doorbell set up that would record his next moves.
McElroy removed the flag from the broken pole, held the star-spangled cloth in his hands, folded it properly and placed it on the homeowner’s doorstep.
The homeowners later returned and watched the video, left deeply moved by the deputy’s act of respect and patriotism.
The homeowners sent the video to the sheriff’s office, eager to recognize the deputy for his kind act of service that went above and beyond his call of duty.
“Seeing the flag down, my first reaction was to do the right thing and make sure to show respect and pick it up off the ground,” McElroy told “Fox & Friends.”
“I’m not necessarily on the lookout for it, but driving in that area I’ve always noticed his flagpole up with the flag waving, and driving through that area that particular morning I noticed it was down and just had to pick it up.”
Small gestures of respect can go a long way, as McElroy demonstrated last month.
“Growing up, you show your respect to the flag. Doing little things such as making sure it doesn’t touch the ground or picking it up off the ground, just little things you can show it respect.”
McElroy believes in doing the right thing even when nobody is watching. Had the Ring doorbell not been installed, the homeowners would have simply returned to find the neatly folded flag at their doorstep with no information as to who intervened.
“Something as small as that cloth represents a lot in this country, whether it’s the men and women that have died for it or the men and women that wear it to this day serving our country so we can have our freedoms that we have and enjoy the things that we do on an everyday basis,” he said.
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