Veteran memorial flags destroyed in Whitfield County on Sept. 11

American flags flown in honor of Whitfield County veterans on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. were desecrated over the weekend at the county courthouse, organizers of the tribute said.

George Lo Greco, chairman of United We Stand — the organization that has been in charge of putting the flags up during patriotic holidays and events since 1991 — said that while the flags are regularly displayed on such occasions, these were particularly special.

Each featured a card bearing the name of a Whitfield County veteran, paid for by their families. Some of them featured the names of veterans designated as missing in action or prisoners of war, in early observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which will be Friday.

“Who could do this? Whoever did it is sick,” Lo Greco’s wife, Nancy Lo Greco, said on Tuesday. “These are supposed to be memorials for people who served our country, and instead of letting them be that, they do this. They are totally, totally sick. I can’t believe someone would do it. People have lost their perspective in this world. They really have.”

According to Lo Greco, a Dalton firefighter was the first person to notice that the flags were not where they were supposed to be on Saturday morning. The firefighter, Gary Stanley, had taken his son down to the courthouse to see the flags so that he could teach him about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.