Editor, The Smithfield Times:

In November I was helping with the Toys for Tots in Smithfield. I was asked to put a Toys for Tots flag under the American flag at Caliber Collision in Smithfield.

I agreed to put the flag up and told Elizabeth Moose, Toys for Tots director, that, considering that the Marine Corps sponsors the Toys for Tots project, it is important that the American flag be displayed correctly. The flag at Caliber Collision was not. It was not an all-weather flag. It was displayed 24/7 but was not lit after sunset. 

Elizabeth said she brought this to the attention of Caliber Collision, and I was told that they said that they did not own the building and would not do anything about it.

After months of driving by at night and seeing the flag unlit, on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m., I stopped to retrieve the Toys for Tots flag for Elizabeth. I also removed the tattered and torn American flag and took them home. I then called the Smithfield Police Department, located across the street from Caliber, and gave them my name, address and phone number. I told them what I had done. After several calls, with SPD as go-between, I agreed to return the American flag and Caliber agreed to put a light up before returning the flag to the flagpole. 

I met Elizabeth on Feb. 1 and gave her both flags. She said she would return the American flag. On Feb. 2, I was watching the ballgame when an Isle of Wight deputy knocked on my door and served me with an arrest warrant for “stealing property valued less than $1,000 belonging to Caliber Collision.”

If what I did was a crime, and obviously it was, I will face the music in court on April 10 and pay the fine.

I believe that American flags represent all of us and deserve to be flown with respect. As an Air Force veteran, I will always respect our flag. Again, if I was wrong, so be it. I am not a wealthy man, but if you want to disrespect or desecrate our flag for any reason, I will gladly buy you a one-way ticket anywhere in the world if you promise to never come back.

Please respect our flag. It is so much more than a piece of fabric.

 

T.R. Ihlenburg

Elberon