Manager took down flags that were placed in front of his bank property to honor a fallen US Marine-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
A forwarded email that said a South Carolina Bank of America manager took down the American flags that were placed in front of the bank property. This was part of a long line of flags along the procession that were placed to honor the memory of a US Marine that was killed in action. The manager said that the flags were taken down because of a bank’s company policy.
The Truth:
This is true and was popularized on the internet by Fox News.
The Bank of America in Gaffney, South Carolina, was located along the procession route for US Marine Lance Corporal Christopher Fowlkes who died as a result of injuries from a roadside bombing while serving in Afghanistan.
Brenda Earls of Gaffney was a long time neighbor of the fallen serviceman and decided to honor his memory by placing American flags along the route where his casket would follow.
According to reports the bank manager removed the flags that were placed in front of the bank because of policies prohibiting the bank from flying flags. Earls added that she was told by the bank manager that such a display of flags could be offensive to some customers.
Because of this, both Earls and Cherokee County Council closed their accounts.
An official statement was released by Bank of America to the local Fox affiliate calling the issue a “misunderstanding” about the policy:
“We want to ensure the community knows how deeply proud we are of the men and women who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. The bank does fly the American flag at our locations throughout the country, and flags were displayed in front of our banking center in Gaffney the evening prior to our dedicated Marine returning home.”
Bank of America branches throughout the county make it a practice to have flag poles on their properties that properly display the US and state flags.
updated 10/01/09