U.S. Marines T-Shirt Puts Genoa in National Spotlight

Genoa- It's the T-shirt that provoked controversy; a U.S. Marines t-shirt with two intersecting guns across the front that got the student who was wearing it in trouble and left others in disbelief.

Angelo Pace's son is a Marine. Pace explains how he felt when he heard about what happened, "Insulted. I was a little bit angry."

A Genoa Middle school student was asked by his teacher to flip the shirt inside out because she wasn't sure if the images of weapons violated the school dress code.

Genoa-Kingston School District Superintendent Joe Brugess explains "had one of our administrators known and been asked 'is this shirt okay?' it's the United States military insignia, the United States Marines. Of course it's okay."

But no one told administrators.

Instead, the kid told his parents who took it to the internet where it went viral. MarineTimes blog, Nothing But Truth blog, even FOX news completely catching school officials by surprise.

Brugess says "the father did not contact and the mother did not contact the school district, whether it be the teacher, either principal, or myself that this had happened."

As a Military Father Pace found the teacher's reaction to the t-shirt bewildering. "It's supporting our men and women overseas. Just because it had rifles on it you have to use some common sense," he explains.

Saying the incident hits home.  

Pace explains "even if he wasn't a marine I would probably be upset about this because I've always tried to support our troops, but it just hits so close to home."

Superintendent Joe Burgess has heard a lot of comments like that and urges parents to reach out. The Genoa-Kingston School District has posted a statement on their website offering an apology regarding the incident.