The Bank of America branch in Gaffney, South Carolina, came under fire in September of 2009 after it removed small American flags from the front of its building. The flags were placed there as part of a tribute to fallen U.S. Marine Christopher Fowlkes, whose funeral procession would pass by the bank.http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/09/17/bank-of-america-in-hot-water-over-sc-flag-flap/
The branch manager Brandy Tate removed the flags as she felt they may "offend" some of her customers, citing company policy that prohibits flags of any kind on the property. The flags were later replaced before the funeral and after Bank of America released a statement calling the mistake a "breakdown in communications."http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/09/17/bank-of-america-in-hot-water-over-sc-flag-flap/
References
Fast Facts
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Date
September 2009
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Location
Gaffney, South Carolina
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Fact:
Small American flags were placed in front of the bank to honor fallen Marine Christopher Fowlkes
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Fact:
Fowkles, a Gaffney native, died in combat, with his funeral procession passing by the bank
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Fact:
Branch manager Brandy Tate removed the flags herself
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Fact:
Tate claimed company policy prohibited flags of any kind
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Fact:
Tate felt the flags would offend some customers
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Fact:
Brenda Earls, who placed the flags initially, tried to replace them, but was instructed by Tate that the flags were not allowed
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Fact:
Earls was told she would need to pick up the flags from inside the bank or they would be throw away
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Fact:
Bank of America later released a statement, calling the incident a "breakdown in communications"
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Fact:
Flags were replaced before the funeral procession
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Fact:
Several have closed their accounts at the bank following the incident, including the Cherokee County Council
