John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance!‏

[moose 57]

 

John McCain's remarks about 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 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 POW's 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."

 

[ASUMama]

Wow! A nice tear jerker. Thank you moose for sharing.

[okane]

Thanks Moose.  Congrats on that grand baby... we are expecting a baby in Oct. also, not a grand baby.  Yeah, baby due in Oct. and I'll be 50 in Dec. , sweet

[waterman13]

John McCain is an Idiot!

A Republic? Under God?

You are lost sir!

Wm13

[Badrabbit]

I Love this Country even if we are sometimes a divided Country, I have to control my emotions every time I think about our service Men and Women, what they have to do , what they go through, the things that will never leave them completely, My Twin Brother is a Demolitions expert, He was route clearance in Iraq, He got blown up 3 times! (He says he found the vast majority of the ordinances in front of him...he says I only missed 3...lol), he is permanently damaged (Brain Right eye, Hearing, not to mention his nightmares) The AMERICAN FLAG IS IMPORTANT and who ever does not love THE FLAG should take the next flight to what ever country or peoples have no flag that they wish.

 

BadRabbit

[MITCH10]

John McCain is an Idiot!

A Republic? Under God?

You are lost sir!

Wm13

wm13, you must be an implant... no TRUE southerner from the "heart of Dixie" would post what you just did.

[gymrat76541]

Granted once a great American - these days I have reason to question that statement!

[waterman13]

I am a northerner transplanted here 20 years ago, but understand right from wrong, truth from fiction! If Sarah Palin would have had a descent running mate she would be VP now!

Wm13

Edited July 29, 2014 by waterman13

[MITCH10]

I am a northerner transplanted here 20 years ago, but understand right from wrong, truth from fiction! If Sarah Palin would have had a descent running mate she would be VP now!

Wm13

Wm13 I agree with you 100% on that statement, I only voted for him because of Sarah.