Marine working to return soldier's memorial flag he found on Chattanooga roadside

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Ringgold Marine came a across a memorial flag on the side of the road in Chattanooga.

Now, he's on a mission to return the flag to its rightful owner.

Richard Cook says on Tuesday morning, he saw the flag on the side of the road while going on to I-75 off of East Brainerd Road.

"I pulled up on it, went on to the shoulder, and then back down on the on ramp, just so I could go and see exactly what to confirm what this was. So when I get out of the truck and walk over there and find this in the grass, I did confirm that this is a an actual memorial flag for someone," Cook told us on Friday.

Cook posted about it on Facebook. As of Friday evening, it's been shared more than 1,000 times.

But Cook has still had no luck finding the flag's owner.

"This is data from 1965,' he says. 'So it's pretty old. And we have to the address, knocked on the door and no one came to the door, I left a note and hopes it it is still the, you know, whomever this belong to hope they still live there. But I did leave a note with my number and didn't get a phone call back."

We went to the Tunnel Hill address on Friday, but no one answered.

"I'm fully aware of what this flag means what it represents, and, and how much it means to someone whenever this is presented to them," Cook says. He served 8 years in the U.S. Marines as a sergeant.

He says he'll do all he can to return this priceless flag.

"if I have to drive to wherever to give it to him, I will absolutely."

Richard says if anyone finds any more information, please contact him through Facebook.

What did some digging ourselves and bottom to the property tax records of the Tunnel Boulevard address where the letter was sent in 1965.

The online records only go back to the late 1990s.

We also found a grave in the Chickamauga Cemetery of a Louis C. Smith that was buried around the same time.

We’ll keep you updated on what we find. You can help solve this mystery by sharing our story on your social media pages.