By msnbc news services
A western Michigan man whose son was killed while serving in the military has burned a replica of New Jersey's flag to protest that state's decision to lower it in honor of performer Whitney Houston.
John Burri set the flag on fire Saturday on a grill outside his home in Wyoming, near Grand Rapids.
"It was $12.95 and it was the best money I ever spent," Burri told The Detroit News.
The 60-year-old Burri says lowering flags should be done for men and women who have given their lives in service to the United States.
"It was a slap in the face. It cheapens the meaning of lowering that flag," Burri told The Detroit News. "They're watering down the meaning of a hero."
Related: Whitney Houston laid to rest
Related: NJ governor doesn't back down on flag tribute
Army Specialist Eric Burri died in 2005 in Baghdad. Michigan flags were lowered in his honor.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his decision to lower flags for Houston. Christie noted the 48-year-old icon was born in Newark and raised in nearby East Orange.
Houston died Feb. 11 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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