Restlawn Memory Gardens & Funeral Home has removed a 20- by 30-foot flag of the United States that was part of a 9/11 display after passersby complained about how it was displayed.
JC Aubry, regional vice president of Clearstone Memorial Partners, which owns the funeral home off the Salem-Dallas Highway near West Salem, said Tuesday that the flag was donated and this was the first week that it had been displayed.
Aubry said the funeral home wanted to find a way to include the flag in their 9/11 display. But after hanging it from the building, people raised concerns that it was touching the ground, so it was removed.
“I didn’t want to dispose of that flag,” Aubry said. “It’s such a nice flag, so this is something that we tried. Obviously, the building is not large enough to hang the flag off it, unfortunately. With no disrespect or no mal-intent, I just wanted to do something really cool for the community.”
U.S. Flag Code states when hung vertically, flags should display the stars in the upper left corner to the observer and should never touch anything below them, including the ground.