Air Force Vet Gary Donovan Saw a Tattered Flag at a Vacant House and Decided to Replace It — He Was Shocked When He Walked by Later and Saw What Became of It

Gary Donovan is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. He takes the U.S. flag seriously. Apparently, not everyone shares his respect.

Donovan was recently walking by a vacant house that was for sale in his Shreveport, Louisiana, neighborhood when he noticed the American flag waving on the house's flagpole was tattered. So he decided to replace it with a new one. On Saturday, while walking his dog, he got a shock while walking by the house.

"I thought I was going to lose it. I really did," Donovan told KSLA-TV regarding what he saw. That site? The flag he had put up burned to a crisp:

(Source: KSLA-TV screen shot)

"For somebody to do this tells me that they have no respect for the United States of America," Donovan told the station.

The neighborhood is upset and on the lookout. An official complaint hasn't been filed, but KSLA reports that Louisiana law prohibits destruction of a U.S. flag and carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine.

Shreveport is no stranger to patriotism. It is the home of the Barksdale Air Force Base, which houses B-52 bombers that carry nuclear warheads.