Star-spangled sin: Vet finds flag in distress at Woodville dump

By Aldrich Tan/Staff Writer

WOODVILLE - What caught the eye of Navy veteran Raul Madrid was the small U.S. flag. It was tied to a broken flag pole at a county dump near Woodville. The pole was so bent that the flag was hanging upside down, a traditional signal of distress.

Madrid, 43, said he complained about it, suggesting to dump employees that they take it down.

They refused.

"It is a sign of disrespect," he said. "People have died for that flag."

Madrid, 43, who lives in North Hollywood, was in the area Monday to help relatives clean up an apartment in Tulare. He made four trips to the dump over a four-hour period. Each time, he asked that the flag be removed, talking to dump employees, including a man who said he was the foreman but would not give his name.

"I am annoyed that the employees of this county-owned dump are OK with disrespecting the flag," Madrid said.

When a Times-Delta reporter and photographer showed up to take a picture of the distressed flag, the foreman immediately ordered that it come down.

Two assistants drove toward the site in a pickup, yanked the flag out of its post and tossed it into the back

See Flag/4A

Section: Local
Page: 1A

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