I was crying as I was reading this. It's beyond sacrifice to love a country.
From: jpl
Subject: FW: John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:40:51 -0500
Please keep on forwarding this one, it strikes to the core of our freedom.
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From: jpl
Subject: FW: John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:40:51 -0500
Please keep on forwarding this one, it strikes to the core of our freedom.
Subject: Fwd: John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance
So powerful, touching and true!!
We must stand up for our country and those things we have always held dear!!
Thanks Mary, I will pass this on with great pride!
God bless America!!
God bless your day.
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 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 on behalf
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."
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 on behalf
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."
"God" must stay a part of all United States Citizens lives.
I was so proud as a kid saying the Pledge of Allegiance and even more proud when "under God" was added.
I was so proud as a kid saying the Pledge of Allegiance and even more proud when "under God" was added.
PASS THIS ON... and on... and on!
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom.
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom.
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