Teen hailed as a true patriot after saving American flag that was lying on the ground

(INSIDE EDITION)- An Ohio teen is being hailed as a true patriot after refusing to leave an American flag that had fallen off a pole at his high school.

Cole Dotson, an 18-year-old senior, spotted Old Glory on the ground at the base of the pole outside Continental High School.

According to the U.S. Flag Code, the stars and stripes should never touch the ground.

He got out of his car, picked up the flag and called his grandmother, an employee at the school, for help.

His mother posted a photo of her son holding the flag to Facebook with the caption: "When your son calls his grandmother and says he has a problem....it's usually not good. This is where she found him this morning. The flag fell to the ground, he saw it, stopped and held it until someone from school could come and put it back up. Proud of you Cole Dotson!"

Eventually, someone from the school's facilities came to bring the flag back up to the top of the pole.

Since being posted to Facebook, the photo of Cole has been shared nearly 45,000 times. His mom, Rhonda Ordway Pester, told InsideEdition.com that the response to the photo had been "overwhelming."

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