When he spotted an American flag in the middle of Route 24, West Bridgewater resident James Deely turned around to retrieve it as he noted it was the "right thing to do."

WEST BRIDGEWATER — A “patriotic moment” coming over him led to resident James Deely running across Route 24 on a busy Friday afternoon to save a fallen American flag, he said.

“It was just important to me because it’s the American flag and you should respect it,” Deely, 33, of West Bridgewater, said. “I still have the utmost respect for this country. I expect as an American anyone else would do the same thing.”

He was on his way home from his job in Franklin, he said, when he saw the flag attached to a pole in the middle of Route 24 northbound between exits 15 and 16 near the West Bridgewater-Bridgewater town line.

“I drove past it, just like pretty much everyone else did, and I kept going up the highway,” he said. “I was torn, (thinking), ‘You know, I should really go back and pick it up.'’’

He then decided to turn around to grab it. He waited for 15-20 minutes on the side of the highway with his hazards on for a break in the busy 5 o'clock traffic, he said, before running over to where the flag lay on the road by the median. He then waited another 15 minutes or so for a break in the traffic to cross back over.

“People kept beeping at me, like positively beeping at me – I think, at least,” he said. “Just saying ‘Good job’ for picking up the flag. I was just holding it in my hand at that point.”

After crossing back over, he said he folded the flag the best he could, laid it on the passenger side and brought it home. He estimated that the flag is about five feet wide by three feet and said he thought it may have fallen off a mount on a pickup truck. If the owner of the flag reached out to him, he would return it, he said, but he hasn’t heard anything so far.

He later posted about the incident on a town Facebook group for West Bridgewater residents as a “positive” story, he said. But he did not anticipate the reaction, with over 300 likes and 60 comments commending him, not including private messages he said he also received.

“I think it got such a strong reaction from people because I think a lot of people, especially the generation before mine like my parents’ generation, had a different upbringing and they have always held this country and the flag being the main symbol of this country with the utmost respect," he said. “That’s the way they were raised.”

Despite the largely positive reaction, Deely said he did get some criticism,

“A lot of people were saying it was really stupid that I did that, but people do things that are far, far worse or risky and dangerous than running across a highway to support and protect the flag,” he said. “I cautiously waited for the traffic to pass and cautiously went across the highway to retrieve the flag.”

The ordeal reminded him of his own experience of learning to respect the flag as a kid.

“I remember standing in the classroom every morning, getting up and putting your hand over your heart and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance,” he said. “It became a thing you did everyday, you didn’t even think about it as a kid."

With turmoil rampant in the media with mass shootings and racial tensions, he said, he believes the meaning of the flag has gotten lost, especially with the NFL protests with kneeling during the anthem.

“When I was young … everyone respected the flag,” he said. “Everyone respected the USA. This was the best country. I still believe it’s the best country, and now people don’t seem to think that way anymore."

He plans to hang the flag, which was in pretty good condition, in his backyard after he gets it professionally cleaned at a local dry cleaner, he said. Going back for it was the right thing to do, he said, and he wants to pass those morals on to his son, Lincoln, who is turning two next month.

“I want to try and teach my son the difference between right and wrong the best I can,” he said.

Staff writer Corlyn Voorhees can be reached at cvoorhees@enterprisenews.com