A La Porte man seemingly with red white and blue in his veins has done it again.

 

500 flags are up in the downtown area to help with the patriotic spirit leading up to Independence Day,. 

 

Jim Roy, 61, has been doing this since 2002 at no cost to the city.

 

Mayor Tom Dermody sang his praises while looking at the flags yesterday and asked citizens to give him their thanks.

 

“It’s got to be 20-years he’s been doing this.  It makes LaPorte special,” he said.

 

Roy got involved in 2002 when the LaPorte Jaycees could no longer afford the cost of purchasing and maintaining the flags typically up by Memorial Day.

 

He was also inspired to keep the local tradition alive by the terrorist attacks occurring the previous year on U.S. soil.

 

Last year, Roy said he spent $7,500 for 700 nylon flags along with poles and other hardware like brackets needed to hang them on light posts along both sides of Indiana 2 and other streets including the U.S 35 overpass.

 

He doesn’t have to buy as many flags in some years depending on how well they held up the previous year.

 

Roy is not a veteran but his father, Michael, and one of his uncles served in World War II.