Thank you for this opportunity to come and speak on Flag Day. It is only fitting to have the school system involved since Flag Day started in the schools.  It is believed to have first originated in 1885 when a schoolteacher, BJ Cigrand, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary since the 1777 Flag Act by the Continental Congress to establish an official flag for the new nation) as 'Flag Birthday'.  On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. In 1949 the Federal Government finally caught up with the kindergarten class when President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

Shortly after earning my Naval Flight Officer wings in the Navy, I spent two weeks at a rather unique training program called SERE school. That stands for survival evasion resistance and escape.  It was a training program to prepare naval aviators in case we were shot down in enemy territory.  The first week was all classroom work and the second week was in the field.  On most military bases colors are held when the flag is raised at the main flag pole at 8am and when it is lowered at sunset.  In the morning, the Star Spangled Banner is played and in the evening, Taps.  If you are outside during those times, at the sound of the music, you are to stop, even stop your car, and face the flag or the sound of the music until the music stops.  If you are in uniform, it is appropriate to salute.  Each morning prior to the classroom part of the training we would actually fall into formation for colors.  Naval aviators were not much for the military formations, flying formations yes, but standing in the ranks was something you did when you had to.  Standing outside for colors just seemed like a real waste of time.  We would stand at a loose attention and salute, just barely paying attention.  The week of field training included some survival training, then evading an enemy that was dressed in eastern block uniforms carrying soviet weapons and speaking with East German accents and then a few glorious fun filled days in a prisoner of war camp.  In the camp we were subjected to solitary confinement, mild physical abuse, interrogation, mind games and some propaganda – the ACLU would have been appalled.  They would attempt to replace our senior military officer with our most junior enlisted man.  Our senior military officers would disappear and the next highest officer would have to take over.  On the last day we had been working in the yard of this camp that looked like something out of Stalag 13 or Hogan’s Heroes.  We were in yet another formation for the guards to berate us and count us to ensure that no one had escaped, when suddenly from behind us the most junior enlisted man came running into the camp with the American flag in his hands, yelling, I’ve got the flag, I’ve got the flag.  Two guards headed toward him and about 3 of us broke ranks and headed for the three guards.  We ended up in a pile and then suddenly the guards that had been yelling at us in an East German accent were speaking to us in perfect English telling us to salute the flag.  A US flag appeared on one of the guard towers and the loud speakers were playing the Star Spangled Banner.  We stood rigidly at attention until the music stopped and the field training was over.  The next day we were again formed up back at the base for colors at 8am.  We were in perfect formation, rigidly at attention, not a word was spoken and few eyes were dry.  For us all, the flag that had always been important, now had a new level of significance.  The value of something can often be weighed by the cost.  That time in a simulated POW camp gave us just a hint of the total cost that the men and women that had gone before us had paid to make this country the wonderful place that we had the privilege to call home and the honor to serve.