Re “Disrespecting the American Flag in Culver City”
(See pdf below)
Twenty-four hours after Robert L. Rosebrock, the newspaper’s Veterans” affairs correspondent, posted here a protest of the condition of a series of raggedy flags on Washington Place, City Hall reacted with alacrity.
Mr. Rosebrock wrote:
“For starters, this essay shall serve as notice to Culver City’s ‘Washington’s Place – Avenue of the Flags’ that the American flag is in extreme danger … all ten of them hanging from light poles between Sepulveda and Washington boulevards.” First, City Councilman Jim Clarke sprang to the fore.
He alerted City Manager John Nachbar and Public Works Director Charles Herbertson.
“We are in the midst of trying to ensure that they are replaced as soon as possible,” Mr. Nachbar told the newspaper this afternoon. “They will be removed as soon as possible and hopefully replaced.”
Mr. Clarke spoke of a three-tiered agenda. “Our first goal is to have the flags removed,” he said, “and properly replaced. Then we’ll find out who is responsible.”
Mr. Rosebrock, the most intrepid reporter in Los Angeles covering the National Veterans Home in West Los Angeles, and Mr. Clarke exchanged introductory emails this morning.
Said the freshman Councilman in his message to Mr. Rosebrock:
“Your op-ed has been brought to my attention, and I have contacted city staff to resolve the problem.
“It is my understanding that the flags were originally displayed by either the Elks or Lions Club, but we will take them down and dispose of properly. We will also work on getting new flags displayed.
“Thanks for bringing this to my attention. BTW, did you reach out to anyone in City Hall about the problem prior to the op-ed?”
In response, Mr. Rosebrock told Mr. Clarke:
“Thanks, and I did not reach out to anyone at City Hall as I wasn't sure who was responsible.
“I did a search on the Internet for ‘Washington's Place – Avenue of the Flags’ in Culver City and didn't come up with anything.
“Fyi, I recently led the effort to install 100 American flags (Veterans Grand Old Flag Memorial) surrounding the Los Angeles VA, so I thought that it was operated by an independent group such as ours. It surprises me that the Culver City flag display might be maintained by the Elks or Lions Clubs as they are pretty responsible stewards of the American flag.
“Anyway, thanks for your attention to this. Perhaps by making it public, they won't let it happen again.”
As Veterans and other followers of Mr. Rosebrock know by now, he never rests.
In the context of this afternoon’s followup, Mr. Rosebrock is bringing to attention another embarrassment in the pdf below.
Here is his description:
“This is a photo overview of Culver City American Legion's disgraced flag display. I notified them, and they were in no hurry to remove the torn flag or replace it. That's why running the story about this episode on thefrontpageonline.com got immediate reaction.”
[img]1632|exact|LEGION_FLAG_ABUSE.pdf||no_popup[/img]
