A large American flag flying outside the home of a state senator was burned overnight.

State Sen. Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City, awoke Saturday morning to find tatters of the charred banner in the front yard of his home in the city's Mesta Park neighborhood. McAffrey said the flag was set alight while at full staff because of the location of scorch marks on the pole.

“It had to have been more than one person because you can't reach it from the ground,” he said.

The flag — which McAffrey said was larger than the one flown at the state House — is a particular point of pride, since he had served four years in the Navy, two of which were with the Marine Corps as a Navy Corpsman.