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Just so I make myself very clear, Every time our National Anthem is played, and every time I join with others to recite our Pledge of Allegiance, I will STAND at attention, face our American Flag and have my right hand cover my heart.  No misunderstanding.  I too am a veteran.  I support, respect, and SERVED our nation with six years in the United States Navy.  And I am PROUD to have SERVED this Nation, and each of you.

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Recieved the following from a dear friend of mine.  It is a letter that John McCain wrote.

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Why Veterans are so upset about Americans kneeling during the National Anthem or disrespecting our flag: As a 30 year veteran of Naval Aviation I had 30 close friends die in aircraft accidents while defending freedom and liberty around the world. We all lived this dangerous life and accepted the risks involved because we are all thankful for what our great Nation has given us - the opportunity to work hard and excel and live a wonderful life.

 

But to better express our collective sentiment, I would like to quote the following excerpt from a speech made by former Naval Aviator and United States Senator John McCain:

 

“As you may know, I spent five and a 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 2 or 3 to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation to large rooms with as many as 30 or 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was the 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 that 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 till he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He later earned a Commission by going to Officer Candidate 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 sewed the American flag 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 hours. Then they opened the door of the cell and threw him back inside. He was not in good condition, and we tried to clean him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept as well as we could. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. 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 white cloth, a piece of red cloth, another shirt, and his bamboo needle , was my friend, Mike Christian, sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.

 

He was not making that 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 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.”

 

So to all of you privileged athletes, sports commissioners, or just ignorant young Americans, if you have bothered to read this, perhaps now you can begin to understand why Veterans are so upset over the disrespect being shown to the American flag, our National Anthem, and every other symbol of America.

 

Thank you John McCain, for expressing these feelings that all Veterans share, far better than I ever could. I thank Almighty God for allowing me the privilege of living in this great Nation, the greatest the world has ever known, and the opportunity to serve while wearing the cloth of the Nation for 30 years.