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Proud American

Army recruiters brave storm to save American flag toppled by strong winds

By Lucia Suarez Sang , Fox News
Published | Updated
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Army recruiters save flag that fell in storm Video

Army recruiters save flag that fell in storm

Soldiers come to the rescue when a flag pole collapses in high winds in Michigan.

Two Army recruiters in Michigan jumped into action to rescue a fallen American flag after severe weather swept through the area recently.

Their patriotic act outside Top Gun Shooting Sports in Taylor was caught on surveillance video and has since gone viral.

Staff Sgt. Eric Barkhorn and Staff Sgt. Jared Ferguson were attending a “Patriot Week” recruiting event at the gun shop when a violent storm hit the town – bringing with it rain, strong winds and hail.

The metal flag pole outside was knocked down and the two Army veterans immediately sprang into action, running outside and picking the American flag up off the ground.

“I kept thinking to myself, ‘I am not going to leave the flag on the ground,” Staff Sgt. Eric Barkhorn recalled on “Fox and Friends” on Friday morning. “The flag means everything to me. It’s everything we stand for, it’s everything we fight for.”

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Ferguson, a former infantryman for the 1st Infantry Division, quickly joined Barkhorn outside and helped him pull the flag off the ground and detach it from the pole. The two then folded the flag inside.

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“We wear the flag on our shoulders every time we put on our uniform,” Ferguson said. “It’s definitely really important [to me].”

The duo said they didn’t know they were being filmed when they rushed to grab the flag and they said they would do it again in a heartbeat.

Mike Barbour, owner of Top Gun Shooting Sports, told FOX2 Detroit a new flag pole is up. He said the storm caused more than $100,000 in damage after it wrecked part of the building and the rooftop air conditioner units.

“It was pretty cool that the guys were there and did that and reacted as quick as they did,” Barbour said. “These guys go overseas, they’ve all been on deployment at different times and they risk their life. And now they’re back here doing recruitment work and they’re still risking their lives.”