ron2
Posted : 7/18/2008 6:19:29 PM
snownose
Just recently I replaced our US flag........the old one was getting beat up by the weather
I still use the old one I rescued in 1996. I was working on a remodel and addition to Burks Elementary in McKinney, Tx. The school was also getting rid of a lot of old stuff, like some desks, etc. Halfway up the trash pile was 3 foot version of the Flag. That is not how you de-commission and dispose of an old flag. It is done with ceremony and the flag is then burned but never once does it touch the ground, ever. In fact, any boy scout troop will consider it an honor to de-commission your flag for you. And this was a school. What kind of example is that? Anyway, I took it home, washed it a few times, sewed up a few tears and she still flies today.
I could buy a new one but this one has meaning for me. I picked it off the trash pile, thought a few ugly thoughts about who would dispose of a flag in that manner. Flying that flag means no one and nothing is forgotten, cast aside like so much debris. Semper Fidelis.
My one regret in life is that I could not serve (medical disqualification).
I have a jean jacket that I put patches on. A lot of Harley-Davidson ones. But also A flag over the left breast (civilian location). Another one under that which says "Freedom isn't Free." A pin given to me by my FIL who was in WWII in France from the 9th USAF 410th Light Bomber Group. As well as an american eagle patch and pin that my friend, Lee, wore on his rags in his riding days. Rags are the vest or jacket that bikers would wear that would display their patches, such as that of a motorcycle club. He didn't not belong to a club and was always an independent. He was a true biker, in it for the ride, not the other hubris. He was a US Navy Seal stationed out of Da Nang, Viet Nam from 1964 to 1969. He spent at least 3 Christmases deep in the jungle on maneuvers.
This is a song that Creedence Clearwater Revival wrote for veterans, though it was written during that war. When I saw them a few years ago as Creedence Clearwater Revisited (minus John Fogerty), the explained the meaning and dedication of this song.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kfgibdaaY4M&feature=related