By Kirk Bradford | [email protected]

In November, the Reid School’s National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) presented a group of veterans to a program on Nov. 12. It’s an annual event the school prepares for veterans and presents in their auditorium. The program this year included a colorful version of the Star Spangled Banner, well-coordinated presentation of colors and speaking parts by the students, all presented with music and a veterans themed graphics background. 

The main part of the program presentation included quotes and stories from prisoners of war. The story was riveting as it drove home the sacrifices made behind our flag and gave new fuel behind our Pledge of Allegiance. The students retold a story by veteran and prisoner of war Capt. John S. McCain, US (Rep), who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate. The story from McCain was retold with dramatic photos of prisoners of war and is not a story easily heard. We summarize McCain’s story as follows:

“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.

“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 it 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 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.

“‘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.’” – Capt. John McCain

After the formal program in the auditorium, some students returned to classes and others joined visitors who accompanied the veterans to a luncheon presented by the school. Students and visitors were able to ask the veterans questions and make connections. 

The story during the program didn’t just hold its effect during the presentation, it was apparent during the luncheon. It was common to see everyone, including the veterans, pause while eating and take another long look at the American flag.