STB-AU87
Music by Brother J. L. F. Mendelssohn.
FLAG TRIBUTES
A SELECTION
In response to many requests, this selection of tributes to
the flag is made available. they will add to any patriotic
program with their messages of inspiration.
THE MAKING OF THE FLAG
(Tribute written by M.W Bro. Paul H. Dorsey, Jr.,
Past Grand Master, Oklahoma.)
Oh! Gallant Banner, red and white
and blue, how bold
I see you in your peace and quiet
grandeur there--
A bit of cloth and splash Or color
that conceals
The valor and devotion written in
each fold.
You draw my gaze and compel me to look upon you with awe and
reverance! As in a dream, my thoughts touch on moments from
history past and the scenes flash across my consciousness like
pictures on a movie screen. I see--
Those dedicated and farsighted men, so well acquainted with our
Brotherhood, who laid the the foundation-stones of our Democracy;
who in Boston Harbor brought the kettle to a boil and brewed a
giant cup of tea--then, in the darkness, a winking light high
above the river, then muffled oars, then horsemen riding
desperately to rouse the countryside against marauding Redcoat--
Lexington and Concord, men fighting as no fight was ever fought
before--with our great Brother Washington as he and his
beleaguered men sur- vived the terrible hardships of the bitter
winter- ing at Valley Forge--and at Yorktown where Independence's victory was gained.
I know, proud Flag, you were not there; but, those men, those
deeds are woven in the fabric that you wear.
And still more I see--
A young man, captive on a British ship, after night-long
battle, saw you, 'Star-Spangled', still flying proudly above a
battered fort; and there your song was born. In masquerade, a
single star, you waved above a lonely mission as brave men fought
and died for freedom at the Alamo. You were there with dashing
'Teddy' as his Roughriders conquered San Juan Hill--and with
our 'Doughboys' in the trenches of French battlefields as they
fought and tipped the scale of victory 'Over There'. And then!
that day of awful infamy when 'Rising Sun' erupted from the sky
in treachery and brave men died without a chance to strike a blow
in your defense. It seems beyond the bounds of possibility that
you survived that dreadful moment; and yet, you staggered on and
slowly, surely gained your strength as battle after frightful
battle was fought. And Oh! your day of glory came when Iwo Jima's
sands were breached and, high upon the mountain, brave Marines
raised your proud colors.
Oh! how I laughed and cheered and wept with pride To see you in
your glory there above the smoke And guns and blazing bush and
shattered earth And straining men whose efforts changed the
battle's tide.
More pictures pass--and many are the deeds from history's pages
that stir my memories. They are the bold threads of your
tapestry, each one speaking of those 'Makers of the Flag' whose
lives are the stuff of story and of legend. But, they are not all
the threads, nor even most, because--
The tired, the poor, the weary, come home to us, are 'Makers of
the Flag'. You raise the wheat--you mine the coal--you make the
steel-you enforce the laws--you teach our children-you bring
God's Word to us--you do all the things which must be done to
make our country, this one we live in, great. You are truly
'Makers of the Flag'!
And so, I make my tribute to this Gallant Banner, which
thrills me when I am in its presence and excites my deepest
feelings when I sing its 8888. But, I also dedicate this tribute
to each of you for your part in 'The Making of The Flag!'
FREEDOM'S BANNER
(A presentation given at Ihe Grand Lodge of Oklahoma
by Wor. Bro Allan D. Large, Grand Flag Bearer.)
As we meet today under the protective folds of Old Glory and
pause to pay tribute to it, let us reflect on its glorious
history and contemplate the things for which it stands.
The Stars and Stripes was born two-hundred and ten years ago
amid the first flames of America's fight for freedom. She has
seen the transition from horses pulling carriages over cobblestone streets to silver jets streaking across wide blue skies.
She has traveled from New York to San Francisco, from Chicago to
New Orleans, across every sea and across every continent. Her
pride has been unfurled on sailing ships, steamers and mighty
vessels of armed power to bring peace and freedom to oppressed
people throughout the world. She has soared on the tip of a
mighty Saturn with blazing engines through the silent seas of
space until she stood proudly on the gray surface of the shining
moon.
She was in the hands of our first President in the blood and
snow at Valley Forge and was there when our Nation was
born--small, with a wilderness at her back and seas at her
sides, and not one friendly neighbor to whom she could call for
help.
She has been the inspiration for untold millions, many of
whom have followed her into battle so that we might continue to
enjoy the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness which have been
granted to every American as the heritage of free men. And when
they have given the ultimate sacrifice for her cause, she gently
wraps them in her love and drapes her honors over their caskets.
She flies proudly over their green graves, where ever they may
be, praying that wars might end forever. She never forgets them
as her color is dyed a richer hue with their blood. She rises
every morning to watch over the graves of our finest men whose
years were short but whose service was longer than we can ever
measure.
Our flag is a symbol of a nation such as the world has never
known because she represents something the world has never
seen--a government of the people, by the people, and for the
people. History gives no example of any nation, other than
America, championing the cause of the oppressed and downtrodden
peoples of earth, asking no reward except that all people have a
right to live peaceably without fear of aggression or
dictatorship. We ask only that people be allowed to be free as
God intended. For no country knows greater freedom than our
country-freedom for each to choose his life's work; freedom to
travel from state to state without having to obtain permission
from dictator-like authorities; freedom to try and succeed;
freedom to fail and not be cast into prison for honest failure;
freedom to speak, write, praise, question or criticize anyone
regardless of how high his station or rank; freedom to save and
to build; freedom to worship or not to worship, as your own mind
and heart dictates.
But freedom has a tremendous cost. Reflect on the words of
George Washington at Valley Forge when--cold, wet, and hungry--in
the snow and wind he turned to one of his officers and said:
''This liberty will seem so cheap to those who will not have to
pay its cost." Those freedoms which we possess might seem cheap
to people who have not had to pay the full price for them. I
wonder what America would be like today without the sacrifice of
those who loved their country more than themselves and mercy more
than life. These people gave us a great gift, so how do we show
our gratitude? By erecting statues? Statues are impressive, but
they end up mainly being tourist attractions. Placing a wreath on
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a nice gesture--but eventually
the wreath withers and is forgotten. Speeches are good, but they
vanish almost as the words are spoken. Let us look to the Bible
in the First Epistle of John, chapter 3 verse 18 for the answer:
''Let us not love in word neither in tongue, but in deed and in
truth." So how do we love in deed and truth? We can live lives
dedicated to the faithful, intelligent use of our freedom
symbolized by our flag.
Above all else, in gratitude to God and to all who have given
so much, we must have a real concept of "one nation under God",
united in defense of truth and the American Dream so that America
might have a new birth of freedom. To accomplish this rebirth, we
pass the Red, White and Blue to our younger generation with the
admonition of our late President John F. Kennedy:
''Let the word go forth from this
time and place to friend and foe
alike, that the torch has been
passed to a new generation of
Americans.
''Let every nation know whether it
wishes us well or ill that we shall
pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any
friends, oppose any foe to assure
the survival and success of liberty.
"Now the trumpet summons us
again not as a call to bear arms,
though arms we need, not as a call
to battle, though embattled we are,
but as a call to bear the burden of
a long twilight struggle, a struggle
against the common enemies of
man: tyranny, poverty, disease and
war itself.''
Let us pledge our loyalty to this great flag that expresses the
will of a free people. Let us be obedient to every thing it
represents; our country's laws, our constitutional authority, a
recognition of the right of every human being to the enjoyment
of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Let us remember that when we pledge allegiance to our flag,
that we are honoring and saying thanks to every man, woman and
child who has suffered and died--directly or indirectly--for
our country which has been made great by their sacrifice. Let us
preserve and defend this grand old flag at home and abroad and
thereby bequeath a priceless heritage to generations yet unborn.
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