Discarded cemetery flags are cleaned up
Three employees were disciplined and hundreds of small American flags properly disposed of on Tuesday at Butler County Memorial Park Mausoleum and Cemetery.
A video appeared Monday on a Butler-related Facebook page that showed hundreds of small flags that had been placed on graves at the cemetery dumped in the adjacent woods along with other refuse.
The video was shot by Facebook user “Dave Stew” and garnered more than 275 comments, mostly from outraged residents.
The videographer, who would only give his name as David S., said he lives across from the cemetery and walked into the woods in the back looking for a shortcut to Moraine Pointe Plaza.
When he saw a trail, he followed it hoping he had found a quick path to the development.
“Then I see that scene, and I thought, 'That ain't right,'” David said. “I was pretty upset.”
David explained that his uncle, a former Butler Fire Department chief, is buried in the cemetery. David is also a former Boy Scout.
“Even at 10 years old, I knew how to properly dispose of the flag,” he said.
So, he pulled out his smart phone and videotaped the downed flags. David put the video on the Butler-related Facebook page immediately, but didn't think it would go viral locally so quickly.
“I thought, 'It looks like the cat's out of the bag,'” David said.
He said he was not trying to stir up trouble by posting the video, but did so because he was incensed at the sight of flags lying on the dirt.
“I was just a concerned citizen,” David said. “I figured I had to do what I had to do to let the public know.”
He said he was surprised at the number of people who were also disgusted by the sight of the tiny renditions of Old Glory laying on the ground.
“In this political climate, it's refreshing to see that people still care and stand up for the flag and what it represents,” David said.
David said he was told to leave the cemetery property Tuesday when he went back to record the area where the flags were.
Paul Simms, manager at the cemetery on Evans City Road in Butler Township, said Tuesday morning that his one full-time and two part-time employees have been disciplined and made to understand in no uncertain terms the importance of proper disposal of the flags placed on the graves.“They did not follow protocol,” he said.The flags were those remaining on the graves of the cemetery's 2,000 veterans, which had become tattered, faded or dirty since being placed in May, Simms said.Normally, Simms said, the worn flags are disposed of by being placed in a box, which goes into the garage.“The box is sealed and respectfully buried like we have been doing for the last 70 years,” Simms said.He said the dumped flags were retrieved and will receive the normal burial per protocol.“It was a one-time occurrence and will never happen again,” Simms said. “It's an unfortunate situation, but I'm glad to rectify it within four hours of knowing about it.”On the Facebook post where the video appeared, some commenters reached out to Kevin Boozel, county commissioner, for help with the situation.Boozel asked Simms in the comment section to address the situation and offered his help.Simms replied on the Facebook thread that his father is a World War II combat veteran and that dumping the flags in the woods is a violation of cemetery protocol.“I wish this would have been brought to my attention privately,” Simms commented on Facebook. “I am appalled that our standard protocol was broken.”Boozel responded “I knew you would take care of this. Thank you.”
Simms told the Eagle that federal cemeteries only keep the small flags on veterans' graves for up to a week and in some cases for one day.“We left ours on for 12 weeks out of respect for the veterans,” Simms said.John Cyprian, the county Veterans Services director, said his department provides the flags for placement on veterans' graves throughout the county each Memorial Day.Veterans organizations gather volunteers to help place them on the graves each year.Cyprian said he was very upset when he saw the video.“My initial reaction is it's utterly disgusting and truly heartbreaking to see that,” Cyprian said. “Butler County is a very patriotic county and we don't do those things here.”He said per Chapter 36, Title 10 of U.S. Code, all flags, regardless of their size, should never touch the ground.“I hope people learn from it and we'll never have to deal with it again,” Cyprian said.Cyprian said he went to the cemetery at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to look at the site where the flags were dumped and to talk to Simms.“It was already cleaned up,” Cyprian said. “I'm pretty confident it's a one-time deal, given Paul's nature.”Cyprian was not surprised at the reaction the video received online.“Every day is Veterans Day in Butler County,” Cyprian said. “Our community is very patriotic.”
