Article that appeared in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
A touching example of respect for Old Glory
By Bob Ray Sanders
Fire and flag.
Many people don't like to think of those two words together because they conjure up images of protests and dishonoring one of the nation's most meaningful symbols.
But flames play an important role in one of the most reverent ceremonies involving the Stars and Stripes, and last Saturday morning I was present for one of those moving events.
The fire was burning when I arrived on the grounds of the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth where a crowd -- including several people dressed in Civil War-period clothing -- had gathered.
Museum employee Cindy Harriman approached gingerly carrying a tattered U.S. flag that was flying at the Colleyville Heritage High School baseball field when the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine came through last month and severely ripped it.
School officials had removed the damaged banner, folded it and put it away in a closet until last week.
That flag, along with about 30 others, would be burned as part of the U.S. Flag Retirement Ceremony sponsored by the General J.J. Byrne Camp #1 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in conjunction with the museum.
According to the U.S. Federal Flag Code, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning."
Shirley Woodlock, immediate past president of the Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, brought two flags: a U.S. flag and the First National Flag of the Confederacy that she used during her term in office.
One person taking part in the ceremony, Bob Rubel, is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans and Sons of Confederate Veterans.
"I had ancestors on both sides of the war," Rubel said.
On a table near the 50-gallon barrel in which the fire had been built were dismembered flags -- the blue field with white stars had been cut away from each and folded into a triangle, and the red and white stripes had been separated and tied into several bundles of each color.
The ceremony properly began with a posting of the colors by uniformed members of the Sons of Union Veterans and the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner. And, as if on cue, a fighter jet from the nearby joint reserve base flew over during the national anthem.
On hand for the event were Boy Scout Troop 435 of Saginaw, Cub Scout Troop 319 of Lake Worth and Girl Scout Troop 2702 of Saginaw.
Speakers gave a history of the flag, a recapping of wars and the number of people killed in each, and an explanation of the ceremony.
Boy Scout Ted Herman, 11, of Troop 350 in Fort Worth and Cub Scout Lawson Steuart of Troop 435 assisted by delivering the remnants of the flags to the keeper of the flame who slowly placed them in the fire.
Flags brought to the ceremony that had not been dismembered were each put into the fire stripes first. The last banner to be burned was the First National Flag of the Confederacy.
The observance ended with the singing of God Bless America, a salute by five men firing their muskets three times and the sounding of taps.
In a day when so many people tend to wrap themselves in the flag, often proclaiming their own patriotism while questioning the loyalty of others, it was heartening to witness an event that brought together descendants of both sides of the Civil War, young and old patriots, and those of different political stripes to truly honor the flag.
It also served as a reminder that too many people, including those who claim to love the flag, dishonor it by not properly displaying it.
I often see tattered flags flying in the wind in front of businesses or from a moving car, and many people fly the flag at night without any illumination on it.
Some folks even wear small flags on their back pockets, which means they actually sit on them at times.
Many of us could use more lessons on flag etiquette, especially when we are eager to preach patriotism to others.
Liendo Plantation AAR: It wouldn’t be Liendo without rain. We had light rain Friday night and on Saturday, so this was just about as good of weather as you get at this reenactment!
We did not travel as a group this time. This allowed some of us to leave earlier than normal. My group left about 2:00pm with the trailer, made a few stops for supplies and to people, and arrived about 7:00pm. (It should be noted that Friday night at 7pm looks a lot like our normal arrival time of 11:30pm!) We had a 10 people serving on artillery and 16 carbines on line Saturday. This means there were about 40 people in camp with us, so we had very good attendance.
There was a lot of effort put into getting ready for this event since McKinney, two weeks ago. Lt. Dhalen and Cookie Boucher did the crew good service by getting tents, uniforms, and equipment ready. Sgt. Williams and Trooper Dersham made a good attempt at getting the rounds ready for the event. (Just as a side note, we need about 100 rounds per person per weekend… so if we plan to have 20 carbines on the line the whole weekend we need 2,000 rounds. That’s how much 6-8 people can roll while watching Army of Darkness and half of Desperado.)
I also want to say good job to the officers and NCO’s for getting the rounds we needed for the event, complete at the event, in the rain. Thanks to Lt. Gomez for handling that hot headed blow hard rebel corporal during the battle, and not asking “Are you gonna bark all day little doggie or are you gonna bite?” as I suggested.
The battles went well. Our unit did very good on Saturday and held the left end of the line and kept the rebel cavalry in check all day. We moved the artillery about half a mile from camp to the battle field and then moved during the battle as well. While I like being able to do this, it does create some anxiety and concerns for the rebels and some of our own troops when we mix the artillery with troops. We must keep this in mind and avoid doing this when possible. But the unit did an outstanding job Saturday.
I will have to call on Lt. Strickland for a description of Sunday’s battle since he was the ranking officer after my untimely death in the first say 5 minutes of the battle. Following the loss of Lt. Dhalen and the artillery. The crew fell back but I am sure that under his leadership and that of Lt. Gomez and Lt. Smith, the command was in good hands!
It was a successful event and I look forward to our next event WINTER CAMP 2009!!!
Cpt. Glass
4th U. S. Cavalry