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The Pledge of Allegiance from the heart of a P. O. W.

Someone sent the story below to me in an email today (I added the photos). Then Steve Dalton - Northwest Indiana of the ActiveRain group: Real Estate Professionals for John McCain also sent an email today asking for members to post more to the group.

john mccain

So........... here we go:

John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance:

'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.

POW 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.'

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

'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.'

So, now that you've read this inspirational message........

VOTE....

However you decide to vote is your right. And that right, that freedom was given to you by brave men like John McCain and Mike Christian and the other 30-40 men who shared a living hell that most of us have never had to face. They faced it for their Country, for their American Flag, for their Pledge of Allegiance, for their brothers and sisters in service to their country ... and they faced it for you and for me.

So......

VOTE

Jan Evett
Broker Associate

Century 21 Ryan Realty, Inc.
8212 Thomas Drive
Panama City Beach, FL 32408

Mobile: 850-625-9073

Email: RealEstate@JanEvett.com

Search Homes for Sale: www.JanEvett.com

Posted by Jan Evett Panama City Beach, FL on 04/02/2008 09:49 PM

Comments (78)

john mccain, pledge of allegiance, american flag, prisoner of war medal, vote

Post is included in group: POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul
Post is included in group: Front Porch Majority
Post is included in group: Storms or God's Opportunities
Post is included in group: Silent Majority
Post is included in group: Real Estate Professionals for John McCain

78 Comments on The Pledge of Allegiance from the heart of a P. O. W.

APR

2008

Oh, that post brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, Jan, for posting. I am going to forward this.

I got this in an email tonight as well, from a friend...

Thanks for a moving post, Jan. Although I am not voting for McCain, I have the utmost respect for him for the unspeakable sacrifice he made for our country.

Lisa,

You are most welcome to forward this.. and I'm glad you are moved by the heroism of great Americans! We need more honest emotional connections within our country, in my opinion. Thanks for sharing your feelings!

Karen,

Thanks for reading and commenting on this post tonight. I guess this is going "around" among friends.

Kim,

Absolutely, I agree, and I'm glad to see you reading and commenting here... you know you are one of my favorite Rainers!

Great inspirational piece Jan, and reminding us all to vote as our civic duty.

Thanks for the great post. Very inspiring.

Susan

Jan, nice post! I love those stories of patriotism!

Powerful Powerful Powerful

Thanks a ton. Real Estate Professionals for John McCain

Here is his Pledge of Allegiance Today

Gary:

Thanks, and yes, it is a civic duty and a privilege to vote.

Susan:

Thanks for stopping by to read and comment on this post.

Don:

I agree! Great stories of great Americans.

Steve:

Thanks for posting the group link and for posting the link to the video. I'm glad you liked this one!

APR

2008

Jan, very inspiring, sometimes what we say and sign we can lose the true meaning of . Thanks for making this real. This is a great reminder for which ever candidate we are voting for. Bottom line we are all Americans

I,ve Heard John tell that story I think on one of his interviews with John Hannity. This is the second time the story brought tears to my eyes. God bless You

Jan, I appreciate you posting this story. It is very inspirational. During high school, I was part of the small group of announcers who led the Pledge of Allegiance every morning on the P.A. system in my junior and senior year. As an adult, I'm proud to say the Pledge of Allegiance every time I'm at my Masonic Lodge meetings. There's always a deep sense of pride when you put your hand on your heart, face the flag and say those words.

Jan, I'm glad to pass along great videos and links. There's a terrific group of about 120 bloggers who write every day, and I obviously pick up their RSS feeds so I can stay up on the news, the real news.

I only wish more of our friends here on AR would join us in the group, so we can leverage the group dynamics more often.

Jan:

Thanks for the post.

Steve:

Count me in. You are welcome to post an invite post on Silent Majority Group.

This is an amazing piece and I didn't know it before. You can certainly say that it's an education being here. Thank you for posting this. I know it means a lot to me.

Jan,

Thanks a ton for this post. As a veteran, this kind of stuff really gets to me. I am no veteran like John McCain and many many others but I still served my country with pride. It seems like common sense but when I see people messing around during the pledge or national anthem it really upsets me that they can not take a few moments out of their life to honor what brave men and women die for! What a disgrace! I make it a point to teach my kids about how to respect the flag and what it stands for. Again, thanks!!

John

Jan:

Congratulations!

This post has earned featured post status on the Silent Majority group in ActiveRain.

APR

2008

Missy,

You get my message here... regardless of it all, we are all Americans and need to feel a sense of pride when we fulfill our civic responsibilities... like voting! Thank you for reading and commenting on this post.

Hugh,

Thank you. It means a lot to me to know that other Rainers are inspired by this post... but it's not me who brings the inspiration, but it comes from what God has done in the lives of great Americans like our Veterans.

Brian,

Thank you for your comment on this post. Isn't it nice to know that many of our friends feel the same way about American traditions like saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing patriotic songs, the right to vote, etc? Some would say it is old fashioned, but most Americans really value our freedoms when they stop to think about it.

Steve,

Thanks for starting the group and for your enthusiasm for all things American! Keep up the great leadership!

Bill,

Thank you for featuring this post in the Silent Majority Group.... I am always humbled by the kind comments from our AR friends. Much appreciation for your leadership in this group.

Simon,

Thank you for your comment. It means a lot to me to have you reading my posts and to know that this one has special meaning for you. AR is one of the most positive learning experiences in our industry.

John,

I am so pleased that you found this post on AR and that it has been meaningful to you. I am a widow of a Vietnam Veteran. My husband served 2 tours in the "Southeast Asia War Games" as he called them, then went on to serve 20+ years in the US Air Force before retiring. So... this post comes from my heart!

Quick side story... several years ago when my kids were in school, I substitute taught for a while to keep an eye on what was going on in their lives. One day I had a student who didn't stand during the daily Pledge and singing of the National Anthem. So, at the end of the anthem, I had him come to the front of the class and I asked him to sing it "solo." Well, it turned out that this was a great kid, and he had just been pre-occupied with an exam he had to take later in the day... he meant no disrespect and he proved it by singing the most heartfelt and dramatic rendition of the National Anthem that day! It was really a positive moment and he earned not only my respect but that of his classmates. And I think they all learned a valuable lesson that morning, and so did I.

Great post and thank you for bringing it to the attention of so many folks.

Hi, Bob,

Much appreciation. Thanks for reading and being a positive supporter on AR!

Great post. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for this post. I did not know this story as well. It brought me to tears as well, and also has given me a greater appreciation for our POW's and what they endured. God Bless Our Troops and God Bless John McCain our next President.

Jan: I've been out of the loop for several days and don't know how I missed your post. Thank you for bringing this message about John McCain and Mike Christian to my attention. I had heard about this e-mail being sent around, but this is my first opportunity to read it. It is a powerful speech about what our POWs had to endure. I wonder whatever happened to Mike Christian... and did McCain ever hear from him again. I know that the torture that McCain endured is the reason he is against the U.S. torturing others. The Hanoi Hilton was a torture chamber and McCain is probably in the shape he is in today because of the torture. It's horrible what they had to endure. Americans should be ashamed to treat the Flag with such disrespect... it is happening more and more in our culture.

Jamie,

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Nicholas,

Much appreciation for your comment here and for your enthusiastic endorsement!

Jan W: Steve Dalton posted this link in his comment above, and it refers to Mike Christian... watch if you have time! Here is his Pledge of Allegiance Today

Thank you for your supportive comment on this post!

Today was so much fun... sending pics to you and to vstalets@gmail.com tonight ... Please send yours to jevett@gmail.com, too. I'm looking forward to Mere Bulles on Sun.

APR

2008

Jan E: Use photo shop on my pictures!!... need some help.

Great post Jan ! It was nice talking to you yesterday ! We will talk soon !

Jan, This is very timely. While a lot of us conservatives are uncertain about John McCain, it is good to be reminded that he is a patriot and hero. Compare him to the other side and it becomes a no-brainer.

Don't waste your vote on a third party candidate. Times are too perilous.

Bill Roberts

Jan W:

I don't have photoshop... but Vanessa does!! However you don't need it any more than I do! :0)

Melissa:

Vanessa is going to photoshop you INTO our pics since you and I were talking on the phone when we were taking the photos!! :-) It was so much fun talking with you, too. I'm going to make it over your way sometime on the way to the Smoky Mts! We'll plan it!

Hi, Bill,

Thanks for reading and commenting on this post... don't be uncertain! I think he's the best choice, really! :_)

APR

2008

Jan, I have been MIA the last few days and cant believe I missed this post. I have read this before, but it is always worth reading. It is difficult for most of us to even begin to imagine being in a war situation much less being a POW. God bless all of the men and woman who protect our right to vote!

Hi, Audrey,

Glad to see you back commenting on this post. You are right on about our military men and women. Good to know there are brave Americans who are willing to take leadership positions in this country. We are so blessed.

APR

2008

Hi Jan,
Our veterans are heroes. The sacrifices they made for all of us can never be repaid but we can show them respect and honor them.

I was talking with a guy at my RE Update last week that served in Viet Nam and unlike what many think, he is not bitter about the lack of respect shown him and others when they returned home and he is proud that we are treating our military returning now much better.

Thanks for a great post.

Hi, Cynthia,

I agree, they are our Nation's heroes. Yes, most Veterans seem to be like your friend. My husband, who was in the Viet Nam War in the Air Force felt the same way... he was never bitter, just mindful that more should have been and should continue to be done for the men and women who have served this country in the Armed Forces.

APR

2008

Hi Jan great post, I had not seen it before but is so true, I found a couple of items on the web that I think brings it home, this are our boys.

God Bless.

Adolfo Trana

The Hand of a Hero

By Lowell Ponte
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, April 27, 2006

Last September 19 Sergeant Michael Burghardt was on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is one of those young men with the military in his DNA. His father had come home from Vietnam with a Bronze Star and a body paralyzed from the waist down; he had to teach Michael to play football from a wheelchair. Michael joined the Marines right out of high school. He is now a veteran Gunnery Sergeant with almost 18 years' experience, including 15 years in bomb disposal. During his second tour he too had been awarded the Bronze Star for disabling an astonishing 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance.

Earlier on this day he had signed up for another three months of duty, then went about his business in the wild Tammim neighborhood in a western corner of Ramadi, a Sunni Triangle city of 400,000 west of Fallujah on the main road to Syria. Less than one Iraqi in five is a Sunni Muslim, but Saddam Hussein and his Baathist Party elite were Sunnis. Many in this tribal city were enraged at those who toppled an Iraqi dictatorship that favored them.

Burghardt regarded Ramadi as "the scariest place on Earth."

Four American soldiers had just been ambushed and killed there, and Sergeant Burghardt, part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team supporting the 2^nd Brigade 28^th Infantry Division (Pennsylvania Army National Guard), was ordered to help sweep the area for the kind of secondary explosives the Islamist terrorists often planted to kill soldiers reacting to a first bomb or ambush.

Along the area's evacuation route, Burghardt noticed an odd piece of shrapnel in an eight-foot wide crater five feet deep. He jumped into the hole wearing only a flak jacket and helmet, not the bulky protective suit designed for those in bomb disposal. "You can't react to any sniper fire" in that suit, he told a reporter, "and you get tunnel vision."

The terrorist bombs, he knew, had been getting bigger. In 2005 one destroyed a 25-ton amphibious assault vehicle, killing 14 of his fellow Marines. IEDs in his time in Iraq had evolved from primitive bombs into cleverly-concealed, sophisticated shaped-charge explosives that can be detonated by a variety of remote-control techniques, including the infrared beams used by Irish Republican Army terrorists in south Armagh and by Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists based in Lebanon and Syria. The fixings and technology behind such bombs increasingly appear to come from Syria and Iran, now rushing to devise its own nuclear weapons.

"Pink mist" is how Burghardt and his fellow bomb defusers describe what they turn into if they make a mistake. Five EOD team members Burghardt worked with had been blown to bits by such bombs, one of them only three weeks earlier. "It's a vague science," he later said of bomb disposal. "Some art, some guesswork and some luck. Explosives do weird things. Sometimes they kill you. Sometimes they just blow you out of a hole. But we're beating the insurgents. We're getting to them so much that they're targeting us. I take that as a compliment."

Inside the crater Burghardt pulled out the trusty Shrade 7 inch knife that he had carried since 1994 and began probing the ground. Suddenly he saw a glint of telltale orange plastic covering a Senao base station. He quickly cut the wire leading from it, his hand following it to uncover two buried 122 millimeter cannon shells that had been rigged to explode.

Burghardt patted his head, a signal to nearby soldiers that he had found a bomb. A captain grabbed press photographer Jeff Bundy of the Omaha World-Herald and pushed him down out of harm's way.

What Burghardt saw too late was another wire leading between his legs to a third such cannon shell. A distant terrorist, probably watching through binoculars, triggered it by remote control. The explosion hurled Sargeant Burghardt's body 10 feet into the air. His limp frame came smashing down, face first, on the roadway.

As fellow soldiers rushed toward the limp body of Sargeant Burghardt, whom they knew as "Iron Mike," he was awake. While still in the air, he had thought "I don't believe they got me" and was already feeling "ticked off they were able to do it."

After hitting the ground, Burghardt was unable to feel anything from the waist down. "I was lying there thinking I didn't want to be in a wheelchair next to my dad," Burghardt remembered, "and for him to see me like that."

Around his body, his fellow soldiers looked down at his shredded uniform. After the gigantic explosion, they were amazed he still had legs and was clearly alive. They quickly began cutting off what remained of his pants.

"I felt a real sharp pain and blood trickling down," the Sargeant remembered. "Then I wiggled my toes and I thought, ‘Good, I'm in business."

Medics arrived with a stretcher, but Burghardt had other ideas.

"I decided to walk to the helicopter," he said. "I wasn't going to let my team-mates see me being carried away on a stretcher."

And he wanted to send a message to the cowardly terrorist still probably watching from afar. He stood, then raised a one-fingered salute of defiance toward this bomb and all insurgents.

The press photographer Bundy snapped a picture of Burghardt's bold gesture, and his image would soon speed around the world via patriotic web sites and be posted on thousands of American walls, bulletin boards and refrigerators.

But back in Omaha, a debate raged among Bundy's editors. "We questioned whether to print the picture because we are a family newspaper," said the World-Herald's Iraq reporter C. David Kotok. But in the end the photograph ran on its front page.

Sergeant Michael Burghardt suffered injuries in this bomb blast, mostly from scrapnel in his legs and posterior. He described the three weeks it took him to recover and return to duty as among the longest of his life. "I don't want a ticket out," he said when told that his wounds might send him home. "I want to stay here so we can take as many people home as possible. I'll do 30 years, as long as I'm having fun. Unless I die."

Gee, Adolfo,

Thank you for the comment and for sharing the story of another hero, Sgt Burghardt with all of us. It would have made a nice post for your blog, and you could have gotten 200 points instead of just 25 for the comment (not that points are a big deal... it's the sharing of the story that matters!)!! Much appreciation!

APR

2008

This election will stir strong passions on both sides of the debate/candidates. So long as we hear meaningful plans on the issues and not the tabloid, yellow journalism ABC offered the other night. The media is hee bent on reducing all of us to the intelligence of traffic cones.

Hi, Andrew,

Thanks for coming over to read and comment. Perhaps that is the origin of the term "cone heads" ... LMAO!

APR

2008

Jan, I'm so glad I came across this today. I enjoyed reading it and sent it to my husband, also a Vietnam veteran, although fortunately not a POW.

APR

2008

Jan, I am thankful for the men and women who serve our country. As a child in school we stood and said the Pledge Of Allegiance everyday. Today that isn't allowed in our schools. My Daughter had to learn the Pledge Of Allegiance in the fifth grade. I didn't know they didn't say it everyday just like we had through school.

Hi, Margaret,

Thank you so much for your supportive comment. I hope your husband enjoys it as well. I know you love our military men and women, too!

Sharon,

Thank you for your comment about our military. Yes, we still say the Pledge of Allegiance at some of the civic meetings in our community, and I'm sure all across the US. But in school it is a lost treasure. As important as it is to know the Pledge, we also must encourage our young people to vote when they become adults.

THANK YOU so much for sharing. What a heart felt post. I AM voting...you can count on that.

Hi, Kat,

Thanks for your comment, and for being supportive of this post.

MAY

2008

Jan,

This was an awesome post. It really touched me. It gives me new found respect for McCain. Thanks for the inspiration. Joey

Hi, Joey,

I'm so glad you liked this story about John McCain. I appreciate you stopping by to read and comment tonight.

Thanks!

MAY

2008

Very nice post. It makes us all appreciate our veterans a lot more.

We fly a flag every day at our home. It is a good reminder of all who have sacrificed for me to live as I please.

Semper Fi.

Kevin,

Thanks for reading and commenting. Our country needs more people like you who will make sure we never forget the price of freedom. And AR is fortunate to have members like you who support the community and our industry. Nice to meet you in The Rain today.

MAY

2008

Hi Jan, thank you for this post. It sent chills through my body. I am thankful to be an American and thankful for the courage our service men and women have to support our country. One of the very reasons I make it my business to vote.

Sonya:

Thanks for your positive comment on this post. I appreciate your kind comment about our military men and women, and I know many other people feel the same way. I like it that you are committed to voting!

MAY

2008

Jan,

Not sure if I commented on this yet but if so lets do it again. I am ex-military and have a lot of respect for Senator McCain and what he stands for. I really believe he has a great chance to be elected president. I went in the service in 1974 so missed the vietnam war. These guys(including McCain) really served us well!!!!!

Hi, Mike,

People who have served in the military really have a true understanding of the sacifices made each day. Hopefully voters will not forget to vote for a great American whose loyalty and honor have been proven true! Thanks, Mike, for your positive comment!

Jan, thanks for sharing such a heart touching story...gretchen

Hi, Gretchen, Thank you for reading and commenting ... it is an emotional post ... I don't usually write anything political, but I am glad this story is going around and that is probably only happening because of the Presidential campaign.

Did you read Active Brad's post about the Dyersburg training event with the TN RAIN PEOPLE? It's really good!

MAY

2008

Happy Mothers Day Jan! Yes I have read Brad's post. Like so many of you out there, you are authors as well as sales people, trainers etc... we can all learn so much from reading ya'lls post.

Gretchen,

Thanks! I don't know if "I'm all that" ... I just like to talk a lot! ha ha! I really do love to write. I am working on writing some stories about people who have been through grief experiences to help those who are going through grief issues. I feel this is something God has put on my heart over the past 10 years that I have been a widow. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

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