On August 9, an Iowa man who flew two huge American flags from the back of his truck found one of them burned when he returned to his vehicle at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, Iowa.
Jacob Redecker, who was attending the Big & Rich concert with his girlfriend, Kassandra Melton, said, “So we were out having a good time. On our way back, a couple of our friends texted us and said that somebody had vandalized the truck. At first, they thought that someone had stolen my flag, but then they realized that they had actually lit it on fire.” He told KQAD that the juxtaposition of the concert and the burned flag was shocking, saying, “They were pulling veterans up on stage and singing all those patriotic songs… I just did not expect that at the Mississippi Valley Fair, whatsoever.”
He continued, “It melted part of my tailgate there, part of my bumper, and then also got inside my tailgate and got some of the liner in the actual bed.”
Melton added, “It was just shocking. I mean I really have no words to describe how I felt about it because its like ‘We’re in America you can’t do that to the American flag.’ Like I just feel like that is so disrespectful.”
Redecker posted pictures of the burned flag on Facebook, writing, “So this is what is left of the American flag I flew from the back of my truck…never would have thought somebody would come to a country music concert and burn our country’s flag! I really thought the quad cities was better than this…” The post has been shared over 2,200 times.
Members of the military, hearing of the incident, sent messages of support. Others have offered to buy Redecker a flag to replace the one he lost.
Redecker and Melton filed a report with the Davenport Police Department. Redecker told KWQC, “Honestly, I just want someone to answer for it really. I mean I don’t care what happens. I just want to know that someone is taking responsibility for it, whoever that is.”
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