The Martinsburg Mall in Martinsburg, West Virginia, has been a demolition zone for months. But when photos appeared on Facebook revealing that American flags that were part of a veterans memorial were still on site, residents took to social media to voice their outrage, according to Your4State.com.
The memorial stone that occupied the mall was moved to the War Memorial Park prior to the start of demolition. The flags somehow got overlooked.
Patricia Anderson took action. The concerned mother of two sons in the Air Force and a resident of Martinsburg contacted a list of people about the problem. And within 24 hours, the development company removed the flags from the demolition site.
"It's just important that they're remembered: the blood, the sweat, the tears, themselves as well as family members," Anderson said. The flags are going to the Martinsburg VA Medical Center where officials there will help to find places they can be displayed or retire the flags, if appropriate.
"We need to recognize all of our veterans and everyone that was a concerned citizen, that voiced their opinion. It wasn't just me. It was a community effort," Anderson said, "I just happened to make a couple phone calls."
Rachael Kalinyak is an editorial intern with Network Solutions.
