SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - An Ocean Beach couple is searching for two strangers who performed a simple but meaningful act of kindness that saved their American flag during a recent windstorm.
Ring doorbell video from the Jankowski home on Brighton Avenue captured the heartwarming moment on October 14 during a windy, rainy afternoon. The footage shows a 5-by-12-foot American flag being blown from its second-floor mount and landing in the driveway.
About 8 minutes later, a truck with a cab drove past the home before backing up. A couple emerged from the vehicle and carefully rolled up the flag before placing it in a spot partially sheltered from the wind.
"I'm going to get emotional. How nice to do that for a stranger," said homeowner Barb Guerra-Jankowski.
Her husband Ron said he was "blown away" by the strangers' actions.
The couple watched as the good Samaritans gently placed the flag on a fence and gave it a reassuring pat, as if to say it was safe.
For Guerra-Jankowski, who was taught by her Marine father to respect the flag from an early age, the strangers' act was profound.
"Putting the flag up in the morning before school, taking it down at night, no matter how tired you were. Folding it correctly,” Guerra-Jankowski said, recalling her childhood lessons about flag etiquette.
"It doesn't matter whether you're on the left or the right … just made me feel so warm inside to know there's people out there that respect the flag, that respect and love this country," she said.
The Jankowskis were on a cross-country road trip when the incident occurred. They posted the video on social media, hoping to track down the good Samaritans to thank them.
"I'd really like to find these people and be able to thank them properly for just that beautiful act of kindness," Guerra-Jankowski said.
The act did help salvage the flag. A neighbor put it back up Wednesday afternoon.
Anyone who may know the identity of the good Samaritans can email tips@10news.com.
