Show support of Old Glory

It really saddens me to see people burning the American flag. These people apparently do not know what the flag means to Americans, especially veterans.

Many of our readers had friends or relatives who served in Vietnam, Korea or World War II. Many of them gave their ultimate, their lives. Many were severely wounded or suffered from mental problems caused by battle traumas.

Have you ever watched a veteran when the national anthem is played? Stone solid, staunch salute, eyes glued on the flag, singing word for word, many with tears in their eyes. Ask several veterans of various ages what they were fighting to preserve or defend during their conflicts. Some aren’t sure; some strived simply to stay alive and protect the lives of fellow servicemen and women, while some will say they were fighting to preserve American freedom and to keep “The Colors” flying high. Many veterans will say that the most

Many veterans will say that the most glorious sight after a battle is to still see the “Stars and Stripes” flying where everyone can see it. In hand to hand battles and skirmishes the sign of victory is to capture the enemies “colors,” so our servicemen and women protected “their colors” with their lives. 

When the United States Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag was not illegal it slapped every war veteran in the face, telling them that the flag was not worth protecting, nor worth saluting, not worth dying for, and that the red, white and blue banner is simply a piece of cloth to express one’s state of mind. The Supreme Court’s action said that the thousands of people who have died since 1750 who believed that the “Stars and Stripes” represented freedom, died with the wrong thoughts and may have been defending only a piece of cloth.

For everyone who agrees with “flying your colors” get your flag out and wave it high. Run it up your flagpole, hang it on your porch, pin one on your sleeve, and show it in a way that makes you proud to be an American.

You see I am not an American by birth but by choice. 

Maureen Files

Meridian