The 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" - by
; 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 onbehalf 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 Officer Training 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."

Thank you Marilyn.

It is my honor to happy to see you agree

Sometimes it hurts me so much that so many of us have forgotten those
who sacrificed so much for the rest of us. I worry for this country.

There has been some magnificent men and women that have fought for our
country and they all deserve our respect. They make me proud.

Quite, I think in many respects my generation has forgotten about what
it means to be an American and what the cost of being able to call
ourselves "American" was. I have a few family members who served and
several more who do the jobs others would rather not outside of the
military. Everyday we should thank our lucky stars we have men and
women who are willing to put others before themselves and in doing so
protect this great country, both inside of it and outside of it.

Amen and in GOD WE TRUST!!!! And our fighting men!

Awesome story marilyn..thanks so much for sharing it...

"God Bless America"

Thanks for sharing that...I make my students actually say it every
morning. Some of them are slow to rise or just stare at the flag with a
blank face. I remind them that the whole reason they can even stand
there and be disrespectful is because someone sacraficed their
life.......about 80% of them will then make an effort!!!!

thank u for sharing that story.

A story for all the right!!!

thanks for sharing that marilyn. i've encountered alot of people lately
who don't realize what our relatives went through to establish this
country and i think they need to be reminded.

Thank you Marilyn

Awesome Marilyn,,,

John Mcain is a great man.

I have a question, please do not take this as disrespect. When I hear
these kinds of stories I too am moved, moved that so many people have so
much individual courage, and that they give it all in defence of those
they don't even know.

Here is my question. I can't help but feel that there is a dismal,
faded line here somewhere that falls between God and State. (state
being equal to America as iconed by the flag).

What exatctly are you all agreeing with, the courageous efforts of the
anonomous soldier, the country these men have "pledged" with or God?
clearly these are three different things and without trying to disagree
with those who want to praise all three, We need to remember that the
freedoms that these soul fight for include the acceptance of all
religious beliefs and for some that leaves the word God out of the
equations. Let us not forget that there are those we fight, who are
equally courageous for all they want is to protect their homeland and
the families they have also left to protect.

marilyn thanks for sharing it with us!!

at one time in my life i would agree but the way my americas has turned
out i cant say i feel the same as a former soilder at one point america
was the best now all we are is bunch of bully wake up usa iraq was not
our war

I am agreeing with Marilyn in that...

01) I have always liked this John McCain article.

02) I believe the pledge of allegience should be taught and recited in
all PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

03) I believe the words "under God" belong IN the pledge.

04) I respect the beliefs of traditional AMERICANS.

05) I am an AMERICAN and STILL proud of that fact.

Posted with the utmost respect to my God and my Country.

Thank you for your post, Marilyn.

Verb