Dad of soldier killed in Iraq burns flag to protest lowering for Whitney Houston

Dad of soldier killed in Iraq burns flag to protest lowering for Whitney Houston
By: Corey Williams, The Associated Press
Posted: 02/20/2012

DETROIT - John Burri lost a son in Iraq and believes lowering flags to half-staff should be done to commemorate those who gave their lives in service to the United States, not celebrities like Whitney Houston.

On Saturday, the 60-year-old spent $12.95 on a 3-by-5-foot replica of New Jersey's state flag and burned it on his outdoor grill in protest of Gov. Chris Christie's decision to mark Houston's death by lowering flags in her native state.

"This was a person who was a great entertainer and a great voice," said Burri, who lives in the city of Wyoming in western Michigan. "But this was not someone who gave their life and shed their blood for our country."

Army Specialist Eric Burri was a gunner on a Humvee when he was killed in 2005 after an explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. Then-Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered flags lowered in his memory.
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