Friendship Flag

Spc. Calvin Schreck and Spc. Joshua Cote fold a flag that was sent as a gift from Engine 34 and Ladder 21 firefighters in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. The firefighters sent the flag to show the troops their support and appreciation. Photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, 2nd Stryker Brigade 25th Infantry Division.

Public Outcry Brings Resolutions Involving Flag-Folding Ceremony, Monument Cap

H/T Proud Infidel:

Allie Martin
OneNewsNow.com
October 31, 2007

Officials with the Veterans Administration (VA) have clarified a directive limiting the use of a religious recitation at flag-folding ceremonies during military funerals. And a replica of the cap on the Washington Monument will be rebuilt so a God-honoring phrase is visible. The founder of the American Family Association (AFA) credits public outcry in both cases.

Last month, a senior VA official told directors of the agency's 125 cemeteries not to distribute or post non-government handouts on "The Meaning of Each Fold of an Honor Guard Funeral Flag."

The memo also said the handout should not be recited at graveside services by cemetery workers or by VA-sponsored volunteer honor guards. The recitations include references to "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" and to "the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

Public outcry was swift, with more than 200,000 emails sent to the VA. Now a VA spokesperson says volunteer honor guards may recite any text requested by next of kin.

Good work my friends, your emails, letters, faxes and phone calls have had the result we demanded: that the bureaucrats not be allowed to make these decisions but instead the decision should reside with the families. Congratulations on a job well done!

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Flag-Folding Ceremony UPDATE!

Fox news is reporting that several congressmen have asked the Veteran's Adminstration to reconsider its blanket ban on the Flag Folding Ceremony at National Cemetaries:

A group of congressmen has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to reconsider its ban on the flag-folding ceremony at military funerals after the agency decided last month to streamline burials at federal cemeteries.

"The flag folding recitation is a longstanding tradition which brings comfort to the living and honor to the deceased," Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., writes in his letter Tuesday signed by 11 other congressmen. "The recitations accompanying each fold pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families, the nation they proudly serve, and the beliefs that they hold dear."

Veterans Affairs made the new policy decision last month, after a complaint was filed to the White House, said Rees Lloyd, a member of the American Legion's Memorial Honor Detail for services at Riverside National Cemetery in California.

"To me, it's a slap in the face for every veteran, every member of the Memorial Honor Detail and every family of the deceased veteran," Lloyd said.

At issue are secondary meanings attached to the folding of the flag. As the honor guard makes the 13 folds — traditionally representing the original colonies — they recite "the first fold of our flag is a symbol of life, the second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life, etc."

A complaint about the recitation for the 11th fold — "in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" — garnered a complaint and prompted the ban.

In a Sept. 27 memo, the National Cemetery Administration halted the ceremony. It was an effort to create uniform services throughout the military graveyard system, spokesman Mike Nacincik said.

But it's caused a furor among veterans. Members of the American Legion have been flooding national headquarters since the decision, according to Ramona Joyce, an organization spokeswoman.

"We definitely think is a matter left up to the families," she said. "It's a nice ceremony; we've been doing it for years. Our honor guards have been doing it.

"It's respectful and it's something the family should be able to choose to have done if they so wish for their veteran," Joyce said.

Nacincik said the 13-fold recital is not part of the U.S. Flag Code and is not government-approved.

"The entirety of this issue is an absurdity that shows political correctness and secular cleansing run amok," Lloyd said. "This is about families of deceased veterans putting to rest their loved ones. No one should interfere with their choices."

The 12th fold recitation is geared to Christians, saying the fold "represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."

In the Legion's burning ceremony for the dignified disposal of unserviceable flags, a chaplain invokes the name of God with lines like "as they yield their substance to the fire, may your holy light spread over us and bring our hearts renewed devotion to God and country," Joyce said.
"When we got back from the war, we didn't ask for a whole lot," said Bobby Castillo, 85, a World War II Navy veteran. "We just want to give our veterans the respect they deserve. No one has ever complained to us about it. I just don't understand."

Lloyd and Castillo are part of a 16-member detail that have performed military honors at more than 1,400 services. They were preparing to read the flag-folding remarks at the Riverside cemetery when graveyard staff stopped them.

Charlie Waters, parliamentarian for the American Legion of California, said he's advising memorial honor details to ignore the edict.

"This is nuts," Waters told the Press-Enterprise by telephone from Fresno. "There are 26 million veterans in this country and they're not going to take us all to prison."

Nacincik said that while the flag-folding narrative includes references to God that the government does not endorse, the main reason for the new rules is uniformity.

"We are looking at consistency," Nacincik said. "We think that's important."

Rabbi Yitzhak Miller of Temple Beth El said he understands the ban.

"It is a perfect example of government choosing to ignore religion in order to avoid offending some religions," Miller said. "To me, ignoring religion in general is just as problematic as endorsing any one religion."

Shuler's letter urged Veterans Affairs to change its mind.

"Please reconsider the policy and allow the Memorial Honor Detail volunteers to perform the traditional flag-folding recitation if requested by the family of the deceased," he wrote.

Lloyd said the honor guard would decide whether to defy the ban next Tuesday, when it will serve at more military funerals.

"We are going to abide by the wishes of the families," Lloyd said. "Not some bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. Period."

UPDATE
Rep Shuler's letter follows:

Rep. Shuler Leads Call for End to VA Policy Banning Traditional Flag-Folding Recitations

The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield
Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420

Dear Acting Secretary Mansfield:

We are writing to express our concern regarding recently announced policies banning the traditional flag-folding recitations by Memorial Honor Detail volunteers.

The flag folding recitation is a longstanding tradition which brings comfort to the living and honor to the deceased. The recitations accompanying each fold pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families, the nation they proudly serve, and the beliefs that they hold dear.

As our nation loses 1,500 World War II veterans every day, we feel it is vital to ensure that the final rites for these American heroes be permitted to include the freedoms of speech and religious expression enshrined in our Constitution and defended by their service.

We ask that you please reconsider the policy and allow the Memorial Honor Detail volunteers to perform the traditional flag-folding recitation if requested by the family of the deceased. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact Sean O’Brien in Congressman Shuler’s office at (202) 225-6401.

Sincerely,
Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA), Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), Baron Hill (D-IN), Tim Holden (D-PA), Nick Lampson (D-TX), Jim Marshall (D-GA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Mike Ross (D-AR) Gene Taylor (D-MS), and John Tanner (D-TN).

What no Republicans?

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Rally 'Round the Flag!

*Updated*

Yesterday I posted about the recent ruling by the National Cemetery Administration to "ban" the recitation by honor guards as to the significance of the 13 folds, when folding the flag that had been draped over the coffin of our honored veterans.

I was personally offended when I read the story on Humbled Infidel's blog about the decision, even more so when I read Mr. Stokely's reply to my post. He is absolutely correct; this should be a family matter and not one for the bureaucrats.

The National Cemetery Administration is a division of the Veteran’s Administration, and as such they report to Congress and the President of the United States. We cannot allow our heritage and the honor of our veterans to be dishonored by this recent decision.

So what can we do?

First, we must contact our elected representatives in their home districts and Washington Offices. We must let them know that this blanket decision is inappropriate and must be rescinded immediately.

Secondly, we must contact the Veteran’s Administration and let them know that this blanket decision is inappropriate and must be rescinded immediately.

The decision to have this recitation must rest with the family and not the government. The funeral ceremony is not there to glorify the government or to appeal to the sensibilities of passersby; it is there to glorify and respect the fallen and to offer closure to the family. It is their wishes which should dictate what is and is not said during the course of the ceremony not the decision of onlookers and outsiders. It is definitely not the decision of bureaucrats in Washington or elsewhere to decide what is appropriate for the family. As Mr. Stokely so eloquently noted:

“Government is banned from making or establishing religion, and thus banned from interfering with those who have an established religion and the free exercise thereof. Accommodating the free exercise of a fallen soldier's religion and that of his family is not a Government endorsement or making or establishing of religion.”

I couldn't agree more. We allow our soldiers to note the religion of their choice on their identification tags so that the proper honors might be rendered, why would we now allow bureaucrats in Washington to decide for them and their families after the death of their loved one what is and is not appropriate for the family's ceremony?

Please contact your elected official and the Veteran’s Administration as soon as you can so that this horrendous decision can be overturned and the decision returned to the family where it belongs.

You can contact the VA by clicking here:
You can contact your Senator by clicking here:
You can contact your Congressman by clicking here:
You can contact the President by clicking here:


UPDATE:
FP, Notes we can send our comments and opinion of this recent decision to FOX NEWS by sending them an email.