''I guess everyone feels a little helpless, a little angry,'' said Doug McMillan, the Comcast area vice president. ''This is something small that we can do. A way of saying we care, and we're there.''

Comcast isn't alone. Flag retailers have been gutted as area business and consumers scramble to purchase their own symbol of American freedom.

Evans-based Georgia Flag & Pennant Manufacturing Corp. sold its entire stock of American flags by last Thursday.

People are still calling.

''My voice mail fills up in 45 minutes,'' said store owner Mary Hendry. ''That's 30 messages, then it hangs up on people. I'm not sure when I'll have more.''

New Jersey-based Annin & Co., the country's largest flag manufacturer, has increased production at two of its five factories that make U.S. flags exclusively.

The company is reviewing capacity at its other three factories to see whether it's possible to convert production over to U.S. flags.

Demand is still high. Jim McGee, who owns Columbia Flag & Display in Columbia, said that in 18 years of selling flags, he has never seen demand like this - and there's no sign of a slowdown.

He received shipments of 250 large flags and 2,000 small flags Tuesday - and sold out in two hours. The 600 miniature flags for cars he received Wednesday were gone in an hour.

''At this point, literally no one has any flags,'' Mr. McGee said. ''Everyone is sold out of everything. Any American flags that come in are sold as quickly as we can display them.''

The big retailers are feeling the same pressure.

Greeters at the Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones Expressway were telling people as early as Friday that the store was sold out. The receptionist said every other call she takes is a flag inquiry.

''There's such a demand,'' she said. ''I don't think there's a flag left in the city.''

Kmart has sold more than 600,000 flags nationwide. Stores in Augusta and North Augusta have sold out. A company spokeswoman said that Kmart has ordered 500,000 more flags to be distributed nationwide but that she doesn't know when they'll be delivered.

The Target store at Augusta Exchange shopping center has been sold out since the morning after the attack.

''We sell out as soon as we get them off the truck,'' said Linda Stevens, the executive manager. ''Anything that has red, white and blue on it is gone. It's absolutely incredible.''

Reach John Bankston at (706) 823-3352 or john.banks@augustachronicle.com.