Ask yourself when was the last time that you saluted the flag? Pause, think about it and then ask yourself when was the last time you saluted the flag out of respect, not obligation or prior to the first pitch at a baseball game but because you genuinely wanted to? This was a question I found myself asking this week during our squadron PT. After our group exercises our PT leader’s final instructions were to go for a run and meet up at 1625. To many of us this meant that we would have just enough time to cool down for a minute and then race back to the safety of our cars before retreat at 1630. For my non-military friends, retreat is the retiring of the colors in which a base will play the National Anthem over the loud speakers. Military members that are outside are required to render the proper salute while in uniform upon the first tune that is played. Service members then turn and face the nearest flag or in the direction of where the music is coming from. Those not in uniform are required to stand at attention and place their right hand over their heart. This applies to when the National Anthem is played off base as well.
It may come as a surprise but most of us in uniform do not regularly salute the flag during retreat. In fact, in a lot of units it’s almost a game “who can time up their work day so that they can RETREAT from retreat.” Around the military you will often hear the phrase “I don’t want to get caught in retreat.” Caught huh? There are those who truly see saluting the very flag that they swore to defend as a hassle and impediment to their day. Instead, shouldn’t that be the very thing that kick starts it?
This past year I can literally count on my fingers how many times I’ve been outside for retreat. Subconsciously I probably know exactly why I’m shuffling around papers, pretending to do work at around that 1630. I think if my comrades were being honest with themselves, they would also admit that they do the same and that don’t voluntarily go out of their way for retreat.
During my run this past Tuesday I checked my watch several times to get my splits. Towards the end I toggled over to the actual time and started thinking about how much time we had left, when we were supposed to meet back up and....you guessed it, thought about retreat and how longer it might take me to get to my car. Then as I started winding down I caught myself glancing to the black metal bracelet on my right wrist and began feeling ashamed for myself. I thought about Roz and her integrity. I though about how her inclination would be to get outside when our National Anthem was playing rather then finding ways to avoid it. I thought about all of those who had gone before me and sacrificed themselves so that the red, white and blue would always fly high. I thought about how complacent I had gotten and how I had taken the whole meaning of retreat for granted.
As I saw the rest of the squadron race by me to their cars, I slowly walked towards mine. I looked at my watch for the first time hoping to “catch retreat.” I waited awkwardly as others in their vehicles looked at me with suspicion and then I heard the music. I stuck my chest out, took pride in my appearance and saluted.
I consider saluting the flag as a “Good Deed” because service members don’t generally do it as I have sadly pointed out. There is so much meaning in doing so that I think many of us who have been in for some time have forgotten the essence of why we raised our right hand in the first place and how proud we were when we first rendered that salute to our flag.
The salute is one of the strongest signs of respect that a person can offer. It means that the person offering the salute recognizes that something before them is in a sense larger then themselves. The flag is the ultimate symbol of that idea. It outranks Colonels and Generals. Even our Commander in Chief has to render the proper courtesy to the flag. As a civilian you too can salute the flag. Although us military members have restrictions, you do not. Let it be as important to you as it was for all of those who shed blood to keep it flying. And the next time you see some unruly teenager talking or joking around during the playing of the National Anthem, tell them about one of our American heroes who aren’t coming back from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Talk to them about World War I, World War II, Vietnam or whatever war you remember. Tell them about the Revolutionary War and what those Patriots sacrificed. For in those stories, that is where the meaning is embedded. That is exactly how serious saluting the American flag should be.
There are some who have chosen not to salute the flag such as Tommy Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Mexican Olympics. And while I still believe that was one of the single most courageous acts of defiance about the treatment of blacks and ultimately a very powerful symbol, moments like that come once or twice in a lifetime. I can understand these circumstances, but as for the rest of us, you better give me a damn good reason not to.
Next time you hear the National Anthem in the distance or see a flag being raised or lowered by a neighbor, take a moment, reflect and pay your respects. If you start getting choke up or feel goosebumps, then you'll know exactly how I feel.
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