NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - "Proud to be Americans."
It's a message the owners of a Hillsboro Village jewelry store want the community to hear after someone allegedly flipped their American flag on their store's rooftop upside down.
"We've always had a flag. We have our flag lit for night so we have our flag flying all the time," co-owner of Peacock Jewelers, Paul Wilson, told News 2.
Outside the store, you can see the devotion runs deep in red, white and blue.
"My father and multiple uncles are and were veterans of armed services. I actually have a nephew who is stationed in Okinawa today," Wilson explained.
Their proud display of patriotism, he said, was disrespected over the weekend. It's a concerning act that Wilson said was caught on camera.
"We saw that and there was a person that was on the roof that should not have been and turned the flag upside down, which of course, I know that's a distress signal and something we don't want people to see," Wilson said.
The owners said this isn't the first time they've had issues on their roof; they've dealt with vandalism and somebody even stole the flag one time.
"They got up there somehow," Wilson said.
However, how isn't as much of a question as to why.
"I think that it's someone who is trying to cause trouble. I think they are just being malicious," Wilson said.
While this act of vandalism doesn't necessarily cost the owners any money, it hits them in the heart.
"Exactly. We are very proud to be Americans. We are proud of our military, our police, our paramedics of all the people that risk their lives for us, and we want to send the right message. We want to send the message of patriotic people, which we are very strongly, and putting the flag upside down being a distress symbol does not send the right message," said Wilson.
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He said he won't let the act stop their spirit.
"My family has always been patriotic and we always will be."
Wilson said they've hired a new employee to help with security and that they are working with their security company and police to prevent further incidents.