We have been talking about Veteran's Day quite a bit around our house. The boys have done various activities and projects at school related to Veteran's. They wore red, white and blue to school today. Also, Joey has been learning the National Anthem for cub scouts and their upcoming pack meeting.
In thinking about the words of that great song while teaching it to him.The flag of the United States was so important to those fighting during the Revolutionary War. They were fighting for freedoms they had not known but yearned to have. They were fighting to establish a system of government that was not well understood but was "for the people, of the people and by the people." You did not have to be born to the right family to have status and the chance to be a leader. The fact that they could still hear the "bombs bursting" and see the "rockets red glare" gave them the courage to continue to fight for their cause because the flag was still there and the fight was not finished.
This makes me think of the movie "Glory". At the end of this film as they are fighting different men step up as the man before them dies to carry that flag so that those that follow would know the fight continued. And then the flag is down and they lose that battle. But for those black men that flag had meant freedom from slavery and freedom to choose their own paths and careers even to gain an education.
I watched NCIS this week and it began with a military plane going down and it was carrying the bodies of some soldiers that had died in combat. The flag that was draped over one of the coffins had started to be displaced and the soldier stood and fixed it so that it was just right to give that honor to that soldier. All of us has been touched by seeing that flag, that symbol of freedom, draped over a coffin while 21 shot are fired and then it is so carefully folded and handed to the empty and longing hands of loved ones. It was what that flag stands for that their loved one had been defending and they had died doing it.
I am so grateful for all of the soldiers and their families who have fought so many times in so many lands to protect what we hold so dear to our hearts! I pondered what I would do if someone tried to take my freedoms away and if I would be willing to die for them and yes I would. I would lay down my life for my family, for my religion, for my lands- it is much like the Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty: Alma 46:12 "And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it-In memory of our God, our religions, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children- and he fastened it upon the end of a pole." We have the same desires as that people of long ago. I did not join the military but I give my support, love, and appreciation to all of those men and women who answered that call.
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