Pledge of Allegiance
In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California, with
respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following
recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:.
"The Pledge of Allegiance" - Senator John McCain
As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of
war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of
our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two
or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions
of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.
This was,as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct
result of the efforts of millions of Americans on
behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
One of the men who moved into my room was
a young man named Mike Christian.
Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama.
He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old.
At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a
commission by going to OfficerTraining School.
Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and
captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the
opportunities this country and our military
provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.
As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some
prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.
Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of
months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important
part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.
One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did
periodically,and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside,
and removed it.
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for
the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours.
Then, they opened the door of the cell
and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on
which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could.
After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece
of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost
shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.
So the next time you say the Pledge of
Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.
You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible,with liberty and justice for all."
In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California, with
respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following
recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:.
"The Pledge of Allegiance" - Senator John McCain
As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of
war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of
our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two
or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions
of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.
This was,as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct
result of the efforts of millions of Americans on
behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
One of the men who moved into my room was
a young man named Mike Christian.
Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama.
He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old.
At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a
commission by going to OfficerTraining School.
Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and
captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the
opportunities this country and our military
provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.
As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some
prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.
Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of
months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important
part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.
One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did
periodically,and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside,
and removed it.
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for
the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours.
Then, they opened the door of the cell
and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on
which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could.
After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece
of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost
shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.
So the next time you say the Pledge of
Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.
You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible,with liberty and justice for all."
). I take great pride in being able to do these little things, and show respect for a great nation and a great deal of wonderful veterans who have sacrificed so much. People who talk and joke, or wont stand or the players who mouth off and dont put their hands over their hearts make me sick.
