By EMS1 Staff
LINCOLN, Neb. — A volunteer firefighter was told to remove a flag honoring fallen firefighters by his hospital employer.
Lincoln Journal-Star reported that Cody Meredith went to work on Sept. 11 with a mounted black and white U.S. flag with a single red stripe to pay tribute to fallen firefighters. The supervisors of Crete Area Medical Center allegedly told him to take the flag down, or remove his truck from hospital property.
”The guy said, ‘Just remove the flag and we’ll be done with it,’” Meredith’s wife Kristin, who witnessed the incident, said.
Kristin, who is also a volunteer firefighter, contacted a newspaper about the incident and wrote about it on Facebook before the hospital apologized, calling it a misunderstanding. Kristin was not satisfied.
“It’s Sept. 11, Patriot Day,” she said. “We take fallen firefighters very seriously.”
Kristin said Cody flew a regular U.S. flag on the Fourth of July with no objection.
Cody said he tried to explain to his supervisors what the flag stood for, but they were still firm in their order. The couple traded vehicles and Kristin took the truck with the flag to her job at a bar and grill.
“What happened was a mistake,” hospital spokesperson Edgar Bumanis said. “We’ve met with the employee and apologized to him.”