DENVER -- Colorado's Chris Tucker has a passion for the American flag. You might have seen him waving his flags on the Union Street Bridge over Interstate 25 this 4th of July.
"A bunch of young people come by every year to see us," Tucker told Denver7.
Tucker started waving the flags after 9/11. On all of the patriotic holidays - Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Labor Day and the 4th of July - you can find Tucker and his flags along one of the state's major highways, waving at passing cars.
"We've had so many people stop and cry and thank us," Tucker said. "[Whether] they've lost a family member or whatever the case may be if we touch one person in a day, it's worth it."
Tucker is often joined by Robert F. Davis, a World War II veteran who served on the U.S.S. Topeka.
"It's heartwarming to me," Davis said. "Of course, I cry at commercials, so when these people are honking and flipping their lights at [our flags], I shed a tear for them."
Davis and his friends enlisted in the Navy in 1943, at the height of World War II. "Our country's great," he said. "We're the greatest. And anyone can make it here."
Tucker's flags also attracted the attention of a cycling group in the Parker area. For the past few years, the cyclists have stopped to join Tucker on the 4th of July. Each year, the crowd gets a little bigger.
"We don't know anybody in these cars driving by," said Matt Sodnicar, one of the cyclists. "[We don't know] where they're from, what's their story. But they see the flag, they're inspired, [and] it's an emotional thing."
Tucker and his flags will be out again on Labor Day.
"I'm here because I believe in this country," Tucker said. "I believe we've got problems - but I believe that, together, we can get out of it."
