A protest raged on a courthouse lawn
Around a makeshift stage they charged on
Fifteen hundred or more they say
Had come to burn the Flag that day.

A boy held up the folded Flag
Cursed it and called it a dirty rag
A man pushed through the angry crowd
With an old gun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight
He had polished each button, shiny and bright
He crossed the stage with military grace
Until he and the boy stood face to face.

Then the old man broke the silence.

Freedom of speech is worth dying for
Good men are gone, they live no more
All so you can stand on this courthouse lawn
And ramble on from dusk to dawn.

But before the Flag gets burned today
This old veteran is going to have his say
My father died on a foreign shore
In a war they said would end all wars.

Tommy and I weren't even full grown
Before we fought in a war of our own
Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't reach.

Where five good men raised this Flag so high
That the whole world could see it fly
I got this bum leg that I still drag
Fighting for this same old Flag.

There's but one shot in this old gun
So now it's time to decide which one
Which one of you will follow our lead
To stand and die for what you believe?

The boy who had called it a dirty rag
Handed the veteran the folded Flag
The crowd got quiet as they walked away
To talk about what they heard that day.

So the battle for the Flag this day was won
By a loyal veteran with a single gun
Who for one last time, had to show to some
That these colors will never, never run.

It is the veteran, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the veteran, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the veteran, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the veteran, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the veteran, not the politician,
who has given us the right to vote.

It is the veteran, who salutes the Flag,
who serves under the Flag
and whose coffin is draped by the Flag.

~ Author Unknown ~