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.

Following is an excerpt taken from Senator John McCain's book, "Faith Of My Fathers" when he was serving our country as a POW during the Vietnam war. This is a story about Mike Christian and his

"Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag"

" . . . what packages we were allowed to receive from our families often contained handkerchiefs, scarves, and other clothing items. For some time, Mike had been taken little scrapes of red and white cloth, and with a needle he had fashioned from a piece of bamboo he laboriously sewed an American flag onto the inside of his blue prisoner's shirt. Every afternoon, before we ate our soup, we would hang Mike's flag on the wall of our cell and together recite the Pledge of Allegiance. No other event of the day had as much meaning to us.

The guards discovered Mike's flag one afternoon during a routine inspection and confiscated it. They returned that evening and took Mike outside. For our benefit as much as Mike's, they beat him severely, just outside our cell, puncturing his eardrum and breaking several of his ribs. When they had finished, they dragged him bleeding and nearly senseless back into our cell, and we helped him crawl to his place on the sleeping platform.

After things quieted down, we all lay down to go to sleep. Before drifting off, I happened to look toward a corner of the room, where one of the four naked lightbulbs that were always illuminated in our cell cast a dim light on Mike Christian. He had crawled there quietly when he thought the rest of us were sleeping. With his eyes nearly swollen shut from the beating, he had quietly picked up his needle and thread and began sewing a new flag.

I witnessed many acts of heroism in prison, but none braver than that. As I watched him, I felt a surge of pride at serving with him, and an equal measure of humility for lacking that extra ration of courage that distinguished Mike Christian from other men."

* Senator John McCain *

If anyone is interested in reading John McCain's book, "Faith Of My Fathers," I have provided a link below to Amazon.com.  They sell both new and used books.  This is a fantastic book, keeping you on the edge of your seat all the way through the book.  I highly recommend it.

 

 

"Patriotic Index"

"Old Glory"		"Remember"

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~ StinaLisa ~

  

       

"Soldier"
Steven Curtis Chapman
From the movie "We Were Soldiers"

When you are a soldier I will be your shield
I will go with you into the battlefield
When the arrows start to fly
Take my hand and hold on tight
Cause I will be your shield
When you are a soldier

When you're tired from running
I will cheer you on
Look beside you and you'll see you're not alone
When all of your strength is gone
I'll carry you until you're strong
And I will be your shield
When you're a soldier

I will be the one you can cry your songs to
My eyes will share your tears
And I'll be your friend if you win
Or if you're defeated
Whenever you need me I will be here

When you're lost in darkness I will hold the light
I will help you find your way through the night

I'll remind you of the truth
And keep the flame alive in you
And I will be your shield
Yes, I will be your shield
When you are a soldier.

The music playing is a condensed version of "Soldier", and is for entertainment, educational and evaluation purposes only. Titles have full copyright by their respective artists and record companies. Please show your support for the artists who gave us this great music by purchasing their CDs.

If you are interested in purchasing a full version of "Soldier" by Steven Curtis Chapman from the movie "We Were Soldiers", I have provided a link below to Amazon.com.  They sell both new and used CDs. I have purchased many used CDs for my web pages and have never had a problem. Amazon also sells MP3 downloads in several categories with single songs ranging from 89 to 99 cents.

Thank you.

November 2001