A decorated ​Marine veteran's attempt to remember his a ​fallen comrades brothers-in-arms ​has reportedly cost him his job.

Allen Thornwell, (​who identifies himself as a former sergeant on his Facebook page,)​ was fired by Time Warner Cable on May 31 after lowering his workplace's American flag to half-staff in honor of Memorial Day, according to a June 3 report from ​the Charlotte Observer.

Thornwell, of The ​Charlotte, North Carolina, told the paper that he lowered the flag in honor of those who had given the ultimate sacrifice. He also said he resident reportedly told the newspaper that the idea of seeking permission for the act didn't cross his mind, and that the move ​was inspired by the memory of his late best friend, a fellow Marine who committed suicide after returning from an overseas deployment. 

Thornwell was picking up a new security badge at his company's service center on Memorial Day when he noticed the flag there was flying at full-staff.

"On Monday, he [Thornwell] arrived at the company’s service center off Arrowood Road having left his security badge at home," the newspaper's account of Thornwell's alleged transgression reads. "A boss sent him to pick up a replacement. Waiting outside the security office, he noticed the nearby flag at full-staff. ​Without a word to anyone, Thornwell says he marched, Marine-style, to the pole, lowered the flag to a midway point, came to full attention, then about-faced and walked away," the story states. "He didn’t salute. He says Marines don’t salute when out of uniform."​

He said it didn't cross his mind to ask his company for permission first, according to the Observer. Corporate security later told him that touching the flagpole was against company policy, he said, and the flag was later raised to full-staff.

The next day, he found out that his contract had been canceled when a manager told him that the company was disturbed by Thornwell’s "passion for the flag and (his) political affiliation," the Observer reported. A Time Warner official confirmed to the paper that his contract had been canceled, but declined further comment.

Thornwell took to social media after the incident, posting a video to Facebook — which has since been removed — in which he named Time Warner as the company that fired him.

But his workplace didn't see things the same way. The Observer reports that

and the flag was moved back into its original position soon after. This reportedly sparked a tantrum on Thornwell's part.Photos and expletive-laced video tagged with a variation on the company's name allegedly followed, and his contract was terminated the next day. At press time, though, the posts appeared to have been deleted from Thornwell's Facebook page, and there is no mention of the incident on his Twitter.

"A manager at the placement service that arranged the vet's job at Time Warner Cable in Charlotte told him that the company was disturbed by Thornwell's 'passion for the flag and (his) political affiliation,'" the report reads.

​As the newspaper noted (and said Thornwell acknowledged), though, the timing of Thornwell's flag-lowering — 2:30 p.m. — was actually inconsistent with the U.S. Flag Code, which states that the flag should be flown at full-mast after noon on Memorial Day, thereby complicating the situation.

According to Thornwell's ​his LinkedIn page, Thornwell served as

he was

​a data chief and tactical network specialist in the Marine Corps.

the recipient of two Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medals (one in 2007 for service upon the USS Ponce, and another in 2009 for work he did in support of Operation Enduring Freedom) and a letter of commendation from the Marine Corps.

​

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