Stan Sniezyk visits his father's grave every week at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery, and that was his reaction when he saw piles of torn and tattered American flags at the cemetery in Exeter last weekend.

The photos Sniezyk submitted to Call 12 for Action showed two piles of flags: one by a dumpster and the other by an open storage shed.

His photos were shared thousands of times on social media within a couple of days and sparked fury, especially among veterans and their families.

"I've been getting messages from California, Texas, Connecticut, Florida," he said. "People are absolutely outraged at what they've done, how they've disgraced the American flag in a veterans cemetery of all places."