Every year for the past 15 years around the Fourth of July, about 1,000 American flags appear on the curbs of houses in Vinings.

Scott Askew, a Vinings resident and principal broker of Askew Realty in Atlanta, says he puts the flags out simply to spread a sense of patriotism among his neighbors.

Askew, 54, considers the flags to be a tribute to his late father, a World War II veteran, and all of the veterans who have served in the armed forces, as well as the soldiers who are currently serving. He began placing the 30-inch tall flags near mailboxes in 1990 in the Dunwoody area, where he lived before moving to Vinings in 1995.

"It made me feel good," he said. "I think it looks cool. You look down the street and you've got flags flanking every mailbox. It's almost like a bad habit."

Barbara Shaw, a Vinings resident for more than 30 years and former president of the Vinings Civic Club, said she looks forward to finding the stars and stripes on her mailbox each year.

"The flags are placed and then you wake up in the morning and there they are in the breezes," Shaw said.

Each year Askew buys between 500 and 1,200 flags from the American Flag Company in Kennesaw and begins his trek through Vinings around June 27.

"I've always been very appreciative of our military and what it does for us," Askew said. "I'm proud to be an American; I'm proud to put the American flag out. When the Star, Spangled Banner is being played, I feel that every man needs to take his hat off and put his hand over his heart. That's just who I am."

Attached to each flag is note wishing residents a happy July 4th from him and Askew Realty.

"If somebody likes it, I'd like them to know who did it," he said. "If somebody's going to get mad, they know who to call."

"We can say it's advertising, it's not overt," he said.

In all the years Askew has been placing the flags he said he has only received one complaint, from a resident in a condominium complex complaining about solicitations, but that was about 17 years ago, he explains.

"All of these years we've had one person say no, but they were trying to follow the condo rules," he said. "And I respect that, we should have checked into that before we started plopping the flags out."

This year, Askew put 650 flags in Vinings, plus 350 flags in Sandy Springs in memory of his friend and colleague, Roger Blichfeldt, who lived there before his death in May. The flags Askew will be placing for Blichfeldt have a special tag on them saying, "Happy 4th of July in honor of Roger Blichfeldt."

"I didn't want him to just be forgotten in a month," Askew said of his friend.

Shaw, in Vinings, said Askew's efforts bring a special sense of pride to the community.

"His motivation is he's just patriotic," she said. "I like the fact that patriotism is alive and well right down here in Vinings."