Corsicana —
Several years ago the Corsicana Daily Sun ran essay contests on this subject in conjunction with the 4th of July seasons. I am proud to say that three of my essays were selected for printing in 2004, 05, and 06. With your indulgence, I present some excerpts from those three essays in the spirit of the holiday. My apologies to my old buddy, Chuck in San Antonio, who opines that I should write more of the goofy stuff.
The first thing I do every clement day is proudly hang my flag out in front of my house. I do this every day — not just Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the Fourth of July. All day long my flag reminds me of how truly blessed I am to be an American citizen and it reminds me of some other basic truths.
My flag reminds me of the many freedoms we all enjoy but many of us take for granted. There is no other place in the world where one can publicly speak, write, worship, politic, and criticize with such impunity. That being said, I sadly remember, during the Viet Nam era, when many Americans thought it was un-cool to be patriotic. Burning draft cards and our precious flag was in and honoring our armed forces was out. American service men and women were actually encouraged not to wear their uniforms in public places such as airports to avoid confrontations with activists.
To me, the flag stands for Americanism, patriotism, and those high moral principles upon which our country was founded. My flag reminds me that America is a great beacon which constantly draws people from all over the world who come here with great expectations, hopes, and dreams. America is truly a “melting pot” of diversity and it is a stronger and better country for it. I often wonder about what an immigrant, who is studying to become an American citizen, thinks about our flag. Surely, it must symbolize a brighter future as well as newfound freedoms.
When we salute the flag we are actually saluting heroes who never came back from places like Valley Forge, The Alamo, Bull Run, The Argonne, Iwo Jima, Korea, Viet Nam, and the Middle East. My flag reminds me that our freedoms do not come free and we therefore must have our uniformed men and women deployed to the far reaches. I believe their flag provides them with the same comfort and sense of mission and purpose that my flag did for me all those years throughout my own long Air Force career.
The flag was virtually a part of my everyday life and it provided me with a sense of duty, honor, and patriotic pride in the country I served. Its ceremonial raising and lowering represented the start and finish of the official duty day. It was an integral part of every military ceremony I participated in from my basic training graduation until my retirement ceremony over 27 years later. It provided comfort to me during hardships, family separations, and time spent in harm’s way. It also presided over the many highlights of my career such as: marriage, in an Air Force chapel in Germany, to my life’s companion; graduations from professional military schools/academies; reenlistment ceremonies; attainment of the highest enlisted rank; and my subsequent retirement.
One of my most treasured mementos from that life is a shadow box with the flag flown over Lowry AFB, Colorado in honor of my retirement. Since my retirement, the flag has remained an important part of my life. I swell with pride when the flag is presented in a public forum. It does not matter if the honor guard is from the armed forces, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Boy Scouts, or the Junior ROTC at Mildred High School — the effect on me is the same. I become almost overwhelmed with emotion — especially when the presentation is accompanied by the National Anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance.
Lastly, when I see the flag waving over a national cemetery, a home-town memorial green, or the coffin of a fallen service man or woman, I am reminded of the most important axiom the American Flag represents: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!
Well, there you have it — thanks for your indulgence of an old man who loves his country. By the way, there are some great televised concerts and fireworks shows scheduled for the evening of July 4t “A Capitol Fourth,” “Freedom Over Texas,” “Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular,” and “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.” You can bet every TV in my humble abode will be blaring the “1812 Overture” with its climactic finish of rockets, cannon fire, ringing chimes, and brass fanfare. I’m getting goosebumps already thinking about that glorious din and The Little Woman screaming, “Turn it down!”
See ya...
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Dick Platt is a Daily Sun columnist. His column appears on Tuesdays. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? Email: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
Opinion
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Dick Platt is a Daily Sun columnist.
Discussion
What the Flag means to me
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