Homeless Man Rescues Flag and Inspires Nation

(July 9) -- A homeless man in El Paso, Texas, is receiving a country's worth of praise this week after rescuing Old Glory.

Leaving his two cats and the relative comfort of his makeshift shelter in the middle of the night, Gustus Bozarth rushed out into torrential rains to rescue a flag that had been knocked over by the storm. After carefully folding it military style and tucking it under a windshield wiper, Bozarth moved the flagpole to the front of the building.

Employees at Management & Engineering Technologies International, a federal contractor based in El Paso, were mystified when they discovered the neatly folded flag on one of their trucks the next morning. They suspected vandalism, but a stretch of surveillance tape beginning at 1:40 a.m. revealed Bozarth and his act of patriotic chivalry.

"When we saw that it was a good Samaritan, we were shocked -- and even more shocked to see that it was a homeless man who had been around the area for quite a while," Rebecca Orozco, METI spokeswoman, told TV station KFOX. Bozarth's shelter is in the back of warehouse not far from METI.

"So we were able to locate him and thank him for the good deed that he did and for helping our flag to be saved."

Orozco said she wouldn't expect that kind of act in a late-night storm from anyone, especially someone who has so little to give.

"Knowing that so many people have turned their back on him, he never turned his back on this country," she said.

Bozarth said he has roamed all over the country and while working security in Tampa, Fla., he learned how to properly fold the flag.

When the local FOX affiliate broke the story -- on Sunday, Independence Day -- calls came pouring in to METI. Folks from around the country wanted to thank Bozarth and help him find a job and a home. Social media sites have been flooded with comments expressing gratitude to the homeless man, calling him everything from a patriot to a "true American hero."

A Facebook page, "Gustus Bozarth for President," has even been created, where supporters rave about their hero. The page had nearly 1,800 fans this afternoon.
"Gustus is not just a patriot, but a man with a loving heart," writes Juliane Higgitt of San Pedro, Calif. "The video shows not only an act of patriotism, but also the tenderness with which Gustus touched and folded the flag."

METI says the company has given the flag to Bozarth, as a sign of its gratitude.
In an ironic twist, Men's Health magazine in June called El Paso one of the least patriotic cities in the United States.

Bozarth and his admirers would respectfully disagree.