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Some lament loss of respect for Old Glory
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Clara Carriocce, left, and Michelle Queen, both 4, recite the Pledge of Allegiance at Lads ‘N Lassies. Today is National Flag Day, established by Congress in 1949 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. flag in 1777.
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Karyn Frederick stands alongside an American flag that she flies every day of the year outside her Canfield home. It is a tradition instilled by her father, a World War II veteran. She says she is saddened that many Americans no longer hold great reverence toward the flag.
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Aidan Frease, left, and Michael Vukovich, both 7 and participants at Sunny Days Child Care Center in Girard, work on a Flag Day project.
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4-year-olds Faith Sullivan and Nicholas Ricottilli concentrate on gluing wings on a bald eagle, the emblem of the United States, as part of a Flag Day craft project at Lads ‘N Lassies Academy in Boardman.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
“Stars and Stripes.”
“Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Red, White and Blue.”
“Old Glory.”
By whatever name the American flag is called, those who love it say it is a symbol of the freedoms they have in the United States and a reminder of the sacrifices made to preserve those liberties.
Tears well up in their eyes and they get lumps in their throats, making it difficult to put into words what the flag means to them and the images it evokes in their minds.
Today is National Flag Day, established by Congress in 1949 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. flag in 1777.
Perhaps the best known image involving the U.S. flag is its raising by five Marines and a Navy corpsman on Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Theatre in World War II. Three of the men in Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo were killed in the battle.
When Karyn Frederick looks at the flag she thinks of her father, Atty. Harry Frederick, who served in the Navy during World War II in the South Pacific.
Frederick, executive director of the Mahoning County Medical Society, flies the American flag year-round near a light by the garage at her Canfield home.
Harry Frederick, who was 17 when he joined the Navy, was a member of the American Legion and part of the color guard that marched in holiday parades.
“We were aware of the flag growing up because dad was a veteran, and he loved it so much and taught us love of country and flag,” Karyn said. “I was brought up to believe that you can be nothing greater than a patriot, and to serve our country is the greatest honor.
“I think that is so lost today. I’m so sad that the flag doesn’t have the same effect on people ... that they don’t have the same reverence for flag and country. We don’t pay enough attention to the people who serve.”
There is nothing prettier than driving past Canfield East Cemetery when the flags decorate the veterans’ graves for Memorial Day. “It’s so beautiful,” she said.
William “Bill” Lusk, who served in the Army from 1966 to 1968, including a tour in Korea, said he is amazed that people don’t take their hats off when the American flag passes by in a parade.
“But, if kids aren’t taught, how are they going to know, said Lusk, warehouse manager for Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.
Lusk’s father, George W. Lusk Jr. of New Castle, Pa., was a pilot in the Army Air Corps during WWII. A brother, Robert who lives in Florida, was in Vietnam. Lusk said he flies the flag on holidays and has numerous flags in planters around his Austintown home.
“I feel very patriotic when I see the flag. It’s a symbol of what my father and brother fought for. It is a symbol of the freedoms they brought us. We have a lot to be thankful for,” he said.
For the Sawyer family in Poland, flying the flag 24/7 started Sept. 11, 2001.
“Before that, we had flown the flag on holidays, But after, we just never took it down,” said Darlene Sawyer, fiscal and personnel officer for the Mahoning County District Board of Health.
“9/11 heightened our awareness of all the military does for us. We are so blessed to be Americans. I think we take a lot for granted. The flag is a symbol of our nation and our freedom,” she said.