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James Sereigo-Wareing of Methuen is aware that some people don't like the flag displays he hangs from nine bridges in the state -- but he'll keep doing it.
On an Interstate 90 overpass near Fenway Park, Sereigo-Wareing's display of American flags and yellow ribbons was quickly shredded, ripped off the bridge and tossed on the ground.
Locally, a resident complained last week to City Council, saying that Sereigo-Wareing's flag display on the Howe Street bridge spanning Route 213 was "tacky."
She wanted to know if the city could take it down. City leaders said they could not because it was a state bridge. And besides, they said, many people enjoy the flags and banners, which welcome home soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
When asked what he thought of his critics, Sereigo-Wareing had nothing bad to say about them -- except to explain why he hangs the flags. "I do it for the soldiers. I do it for the families. I do it to make people feel good," he said. "You can't please everyone."
Sereigo-Wareing has spent about $5,000 on the flags and other displays, and says he'll continue to do it for years -- or until the war on terror ends. But he is not doing it to irritate or bother people. His motivation is making people happy, he said.
"It's a nonpolitical statement," Sereigo-Wareing said. "I hope people don't take it as a political statement."
State highway officials allow people to hang flag displays on overpasses as long as they don't disrupt traffic.
He hopes people see the flags for what they are -- a display of patriotism. He has been given citations from the state legislature and Congress for his flag displays. Mayor Sharon M. Pollard also recognized him. But his greatest rewards have been in the form of 150 thank-you letters from soldiers and military families, he said.
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