Importance of the Flag

                    Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when parents teach their children sincere love for their country.  Each country flies a flag with its own individual colors and should be loved and honored by those people who live within that country.  I hope that all American parents teach their children to love and honor the flag of the United States of America.

On February 23, 1945, four long and bloody years after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, six men climbed to the top of Mount Suribachi.  Working together shoulder to shoulder, they carried an American flag and a piece of drainage pipe weighing over one hundred pounds.  Their desire was to show the world that the United States of America controlled the critical island of Iwo Jima.  When the victorious troops at the bottom of the mountain and on the ships in the harbor saw the flag flapping valiantly in the wind, they erupted in cheers.  The sight of the United States flag flying over that island brought hope to those fighting men as well as a willingness to go forward in their battle for liberty.

                    Fifty-six years later terrorists flew airliners into the Twin Towers in New York City.  Three brave firemen worked shoulder to shoulder to lift a huge flag pole in order to let Old Glory signal to the world that the American people were still here and still willing to fight against evil.

                    The actions of these nine men - on two separate occasions separated by 56 years - demonstrate the importance of the flag as a symbol that our nation still stands.  When we pledge allegiance to the flag we make a solemn vow to do as these men did - proclaim the principles and values of our nation.  This flag beckons all who desire freedom and opportunity.