It Stands for Freedom

            The American flag means so many different things to so many different people. It is amazing to think that a piece of fabric could symbolize so much. To the veterans who risked their lives for the flag it represents their fallen comrades who did not make it back to America. Yet, the sight of it to some people summons so much hatred inside that they will take their lives just to try to weaken what it stands for.

            When I think of the flag, I think of two separate events that each stand out vividly in my mind. I went to Washington, D.C. when I was in the seventh grade. As part of our trip, we visited the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Looking at the six foot marble structure, I was taken aback. As I looked around at the people touching names and placing flowers on the ground, it stunned me just how many people were affected. As we walked along the wall, we passed so many names. These soldiers had nothing directly invested in Vietnam or its people, yet they went ten thousand miles to crawl in mud and dash through marshes for the sole reason that their country was involved in a war. They were not connected to the people who started that war. Nevertheless, they went and jeopardized their lives for the single reason that America’s honor was at stake. The honor of the American flag was at stake.

            The other impression was also a memorial in Washington. This was the Iwo Jima Memorial, which struck me in almost the same way as the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It was not its beauty that amazed me, but the immensity of what it symbolized. It stood for all the soldiers who left their lives and their families to fight in a war that, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was only politically involved in. They also risked their lives to defend their country. When I think of them, I think of a line from a song I once heard, “I stand for what I believe in even if what I believe in stops me from breathing.” Unfortunately, too many of the veterans did stop breathing because they stood for what they believed in. But I truly think that if they were brought back to this world and were allowed to make the decision over again, they would make the same choice.

            These people put themselves in danger because their country needed them. When I look at the flag, their faces are reflected in the stars and stripes. They are America’s true heroes. They are why the flag should be venerated. They are what the flag means to me.