In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California

[johnjzjz]

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."

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Very good. touching. Never thought of it that way.

[Z28 Heritage]

Excellent story John...keep them coming. Unfortunately there are not alot of people like Mike left.

[Knipps]

that was a good one

[Frosty]

I wasn't religious AT ALL growing up in school(I've since changed that opinion but that's off topic). I recited the Pledge ever morning and just skipped the "under God" part. WTF is the big deal?

Just another case of people needing something to whine about.

[qwikz28]

makes me wonder if i would do the same for my own country. im just glad to see there are still people out there that feel that way about their country

[Savage_Messiah]

Originally Posted by Anti_Rice_Guy

Very good. touching. Never thought of it that way.

I fully agree

[johnjzjz]

Originally Posted by Frosty

I wasn't religious AT ALL growing up in school(I've since changed that opinion but that's off topic). I recited the Pledge ever morning and just skipped the "under God" part. WTF is the big deal?

Just another case of people needing something to whine about.

WELL I GUESS YOU MISSED THE PART ABOUT GOD AND COUNTRY

NEXT TIME YOUR TALKING TO A COMBAT VET TELL HIM ABOUT THE

Just another case of people needing something to whine about.[/QUOTE]

[Frosty]

I must be thinking of the wrong appeals court case..which one was it this time?

I thought you were talking about the "under God" part of the Pledge case. I guess it's not lol

[johnjzjz]

Originally Posted by Frosty

I must be thinking of the wrong appeals court case..which one was it this time?

I thought you were talking about the "under God" part of the Pledge case. I guess it's not lol

So with that frame of reference i guess the ( IN GOD WE TRUST ) on everyones money, that must be hateful to have in your pocket -- well give it away -- it has a God reference -- ( don't it ) -- or is it only when its convenient to use that reference important or not should i have said -- A pick and chose kind of thing -- will i guess your on the fence and not a true believer -- their i go again -- jz

[Frosty]

Nevermind lol

[Frosty]

I might have come off a little harsh in that last response but it gets under my skin when someone questions my belief in my faith.

Sorry for coming off like a prick but please make sure you read my responses before you decide to question my faith

[johnjzjz]

If that is how you took it than i a owe you an apology -- perhaps it is a thing that gets us both -- typing an answer will never take the place of face to face discussion -- cant read into a computer screen body language and tone of voice of what someone is saying and how they express it -- jz

[Frosty]

If "I" was mistaken in what you meant then I owe YOU the apology.

So what was the appeals court ruling?

[johnjzjz]

with the change in our GOV as of late almost all is up in the air come January -- and i am not up on what the latest actually is -- lets just hope for the best -- jz

[98tadriver]

you see, you guys need to add some smileys in there or something to show emotion, so what you say doesnt get blown out of context.

[Frosty]

STFU!

Like that?

[Knipps]

Originally Posted by Frosty

STFU!

Like that?

like this

[Brando56894]

that was an awesome letter

[jola]

Good speech.