Germantown resident hopes to get stolen American flag back

 

It was a keepsake memorial to remember his grandfather, Phil Pellerito, who was in the Navy and served throughout World War II.

"It was flown on the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and it was given to my grandfather," said Pellerito.

 

He passed away in 2005, and for several years, Pellerito would not even take the flag out of the packaging.

"I had just kept it indoors in the shrink wrap in the box and Fourth of July this year came along and I decided I would hang it out," said Pellerito.

But just a few days later, he suddenly noticed it was gone. "It wouldn't have just blown away," said Pellerito. "I'm pretty sure someone was just walking by and just came up and took it. I was just flabbergasted that someone would do that, that someone would take an American flag right off my porch."

Now all he has left is a Certificate of Flag Presentation given to his grandfather in 1997. He said he has not even had the heart to tell his grandmother in Michigan, just hoping it will reappear. 

"Grandpa was a veteran, so you didn't just steal it from me, you stole it from a veteran," said Pellerito. "He was a hardworking man who worked all his life and this was just part of legacy and now it's gone."