I’ve been trying to sort out my feelings so as to respond to the June 12 news article, “Oh say can you see a flag on every mailbox.” I’m sure the ladies from Snohomish mean well, and their concern for patriotic expression is commendable.
However, as a veteran of World War II, I am disturbed by the fast-spreading lack of respect for the flag. A body of rules called the Flag Code is found in Title 36, Chapter 10 of the United States Code, paragraphs 170-178. This code forbids abuse of the flag by wearing it as apparel, draping it inappropriately over cars, furniture or other objects. It may be hung on a wall or over a street, with the blue field properly positioned. It is most appropriately flown from a staff or a pole, during daylight hours unless provided with special lighting. It is most certainly improper to dismember a flag or its elements of stars and stripes for use in decorating various objects, even mailboxes or the derrieres of attractive females.
I suspect that these well-meaning people would never imagine selling their idea if they shared my memories, which include the raising of a victory flag at Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. That flag, except for the spotless khakis of officers inspecting after the battle, was the only piece of cloth on the island that did not reek of death, and when it snapped out into the stinking tropical breeze, surviving Marines erupted in cheers.
All around the splintered palm trunk holding the flag were hundreds of half-naked enemy dead, pop-popping with bubbles in the equatorial heat. Not far away, the beach was still littered with the bodies of Marines killed during their lethal passage across the reef in the face of withering enemy fire. But there against the blue sky was the Stars and Stripes, flying in tribute to American dedication to the indivisible ideals it represents.
The flag is the flag is the flag! Do you think I can endure with any patience the idea of plastering pieces of it here and there with no respect for its true meaning and its proper use?
Mountlake Terrace
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